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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


REGINALD  HENNESSEY 

ART  BOOKS      8325  Campion  Or 

Los  Angeles,  Calif.  90045 


THE 


VOLUME    I. 


LONDON 

PBINTBD     BY     SPOTTISWOODB     AND     CO. 
NEW-STBEET    SQCABB 


; 


? 


THE   HISTORY 


OF 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS 


FROM  ITS  FOUNDATION  IN  1768  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


WITH    BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTICES    OF    ALL    THE    MEMBERS. 


BY  WILLIAM    SANDBY. 


IN   TWO    VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 


LONDON: 

LONGMAN,  GREEN,  LONGMAN,  ROBERTS,  &   GREEN. 

1862. 


V 


Art 
Library 


TO 

HER    MOST    GRACIOUS    MAJESTY 

THE  QUEEN, 

THE    PATRON    OF    THE    ROYAL    ACADEMY    OF    ARTS, 

THE    FOLLOWING 

HISTORY     OF     THAT     INSTITUTION, 
FOUNDED   BY   HER   MAJESTY'S   ILLUSTBIOUS   ANCESTOR 

KING      GEOEGE      THE      THIHD, 
AND     NOW     FOSTERED     BY     HER     GRACIOUS     PROTECTION, 

is,    WITH    HER    MAJESTY'S    PERMISSION, 

MOST    HUMBLY     DEDICATED 
BY 

HER    MAJESTY'S   MOST    LOYAL,    DEVOTED,    AND    HUMBLE    SERVANT 
WILLIAM    SANDBT. 


15C8027 


PKEFACE. 


TT  is  scarcely  necessary  to  offer  an  explanation  or  an 
apology  for  the  appearance  of  a  History  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  of  Arts  —  an  institution  which  has 
endured  for  nearly  a  century,  and  has  been  the  centre 
around  which  the  most  eminent  professors  of  the  arts 
in  this  country  have  been  gathered  during  that  long 
period. 

My  own  surprise  is  that  an  account  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  combined  with  notices  of  its  members,  has 
riot  been  published  long  since ;  and  it  was  only  after 
continued  expectancy  that  such  a  work  would  be 
written  by  an  abler  hand,  that  I  ventured  to  undertake 
it  —  feeling  that  every  year's  delay  would  make  the 
task  more  unsatisfactory,  and  the  information,  as  to  the 
early  part  of  the  history,  less  accurate. 

Still,  I  should  have  been  glad  if  a  member  of  the 
Academy,  or,  if  not  a  professional  artist,  at  least  one 
deserving  the  name  of  a  connoisseur,  had  undertaken 
the  work,  rather  than  one  who,  while  regarding  it  as 
a  labour  of  love,  can  lay  no  claim  to  a  technical 
knowledge  of  art,  and  whose  professional  occupations 
have  only  admitted  of  his  devoting  the  leisure  hours 
of  each  day  to  the  pleasant  task  of  tracing  the  history 


viii  PREFACE 

and  progress  of  an  institution  which  has  been  the 
means  of  affording  so  much  gratification  to  the  lovers 
of  the  arts,  and  of  conferring  so  many  important 
advantages  upon  the  professional  artists  of  this  country. 

The  statements  frequently  circulated  adverse  and 
prejudicial  to  the  Eoyal  Academy — apparently  arising 
from  a  wrong  impression  as  to  the  nature  of  its  con- 
stitution, or  from  ignorance  of  its  proceedings  —  have, 
at  length,  impelled  me,  however,  to  endeavour  to  write 
its  history,  in  the  hope  that,  by  giving  a  simple  record 
of  facts  relating  to  its  career  in  the  past,  I  might 
remove  some  of  the  unkind  and  undeserved  opposition 
to  which  it  has  been  exposed,  in  the  future. 

Before  commencing  my  work,  I  deemed  it  necessary 
to  solicit  permission  to  consult  the  records  of  the 
Academy ;  and,  although  I  was  personally  unknown  to 
the  President  and  Council,  their  consent  was  at  once 
given,  without  any  reservation.  Several  of  the  members, 
to  whom  I  have  applied  for  information  as  to  their  own 
personal  history,  have  also  most  kindly  aided  me  in 
the  biographical  part  of  my  work.  To  the  President 
and  Council,  to  these  gentlemen,  and  to  the  Eegistrar, 
who  afforded  me  every  needful  facility  in  obtaining  access 
to,  and  explanation  of,  the  documents  in  his  charge,  I 
beg  to  tender  my  grateful  acknowledgements. 

The  plan  of  the  work  scarcely  requires  explanation. 
I  have  first  endeavoured  to  show  the  state  of  anarchy 
and  confusion  into  which  the  old  Art  Societies,  preceding 
the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  had  fallen,  at 
the  time  when  it  was  established;  and  I  have  then 
divided  the  subsequent  history  into  periods  —  being 
the  term  of  each  Presidentship  —  in  order  that  I  might 


PREFACE  ix 

thus  group  together  in  successive  chapters,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  history  of  the  members,  with  that  of  the 
Academy,  in  each  stage  of  its  progress. 

The  biographical  notices  have  somewhat  the  dictionary 
form,  which  I  have  adopted  to  condense  the  facts  con- 
tained in  them  as  much  as  possible,  and  to  facilitate 
reference.  The  information  contained  in  several  of 
these  has  been  derived  from  the  detailed  memoirs 
published  separately  of  the  more  distinguished  artists; 
in  others  from  notices  which  have  appeared  in  various 
works  and  periodicals,  some  of  older,  and  some  of 
modern  date ;  and  several  of  the  later  memoirs  are 
based  upon  information  obtained  by  direct  communica- 
tion with  the  living  originals. 

It  is  right  that  I  should  state  that  the  members  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy  are  in  no  way  responsible  for 
any  opinions,  statements,  or  suggestions  contained  in 
this  book ;  and  that,  when  speaking  of  the  character 
of  the  works  of  artists,  whether  deceased  or  living,  I 
have  endeavoured  to  confirm  or  correct  my  own 
opinions  by  the  estimate  which  more  competent  judges 
have  formed  of  them. 

In  a  work  containing  more  than  two  hundred  biogra- 
phical notices  of  men,  many  of  whom  have  lived  in 
comparative  seclusion,  and  also  giving  details  relating  to 
the  history  of  art  in  England  during  a  whole  century, 
I  can  scarcely  hope  to  have  avoided  some  errors  and 
inaccuracies,  amidst  the  conflicting  statements  I  have 
so  often  had  to  reconcile.  For  such  faults  as  I  fear 
there  may  be,  I  must  crave  the  indulgence  of  the  reader. 
It  has  often  been  impossible  to  avoid  some  slight 
repetitions,  when  writing  the  history  of  the  Academy, 


x  PREFACE 

and  of  its  members,  in  separate  chapters,  and  when 
recapitulating  the  results  of  alterations  and  arrangements, 
made  at  different  periods,  and  recorded  as  they  occurred. 
It  seemed  to  me  preferable  to  lay  myself  open  to  this 
charge  rather  than  to  give  the  reader  the  trouble  of 
referring,  by  foot-notes,  from  one  chapter  to  another. 
The  Appendices  will  be  found  to  contain  many  interest- 
ing particulars  connected  with  the  laws  and  regulations 
of  the  Royal  Academy  and  its  schools,  and  also  in 
relation  to  the  personal  labours  of  the  members ;  and 
the  Index  will,  it  is  hoped,  guide  the  reader  to  the 
principal  contents  of  these  volumes. 

LONDON  : 
April  24,   1862. 


CONTENTS 


THE     FIEST     VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   THE   FINE   ARTS   IN    ENGLAND. 

Influence  of  Art  —  The  English  School  a  comparatively  Modern  Creation  — 
Causes  of  its  Tardy  Development  — -  Notices  of  Art  and  Artists  in  the  Saxon 
and  Norman  Periods  —  The  Foreign  Schools  —  The  Effects  of  the  Invention  of 
Printing  and  of  the  Reformation  upon  Art  —  Its  Condition  in  England  subse- 
quent to  the  Reformation  —  Charles  I.  as  a  Patron  of  the  Fine  Arts  —  The 
Georgian  Era  —  Patronage  of  Foreign  Artists  by  the  English  Sovereigns  —  Con- 
noisseurship  —  Portrait  Painting  —  Decorations  of  Ceilings,  &c.  —  Sign  Painters 
—  The  Characteristics  of  the  English  School PAGE  1 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY  ACADEMIES  OF  ART  IN  ENGLAND. 

The  Necessity  and  Advantages  of  the  Study  of  Art  —  The  Ancient  Guilds  of 
Art  — The  "Museum  Minervse"  in  Charles  L's  Reign  —  John  Evelyn's  Plan  for 
an  Academy  of  Art  —  Private  Academies  established  by  Sir  G.  Kneller,  Sir  J. 
Thornhill,  and  Hogarth  —  Offer  of  Aid  in  Founding  an  Art  Academy  made  by 
the  Society  of  Dilettanti  —  Project  of  a  Public  Academy  of  the  Arts  in  1753  — 
Nesbitt's  "  Essay  on  the  Necessity  of  a  Royal  Academy  "  in  1765  —  Tho  Duko 
of  Richmond's  School  of  Design  —  The  Exhibition  of  Pictures  painted  for  the 
Foundling  Hospital  —  The  First  General  Exhibition  of  Pictures  in  1760  —  The 
First  Society  of  Artists — The  seceding  "Free  Society  of  Artists" — Apology  for 
the  Charge  for  Admission  to  the  Exhibition  by  Dr.  Johnson  — Strife  and  Dis- 
sension in  the  "  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  of  Great  Britain  "  —  Resignation 
of  the  Original  Director*  .  .  17 


CONTENTS  OF 


CHAPTER  III. 

ORIGIN   AND   FOUNDATION  OF  THE   ROYAL   ACADEMY,   1768. 

Royal  Patronage  of  Art  solicited  —  Favourable  Reception  of  the  Artists' 
Memorial  by  George  III. — Plan  of  the  Royal  Academy  —  Instrument  of  its 
Institution  —  Obligation  signed  by  its  First  Members  —  Election  of  Officers 
and  Professors — First  Public  Announcement  of  its  Foundation  —  The  Fate 
of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  —  The  Diploma  —  The  Royal  Favour 
and  Bounty  bestowed  on  the  Academy,  and  its  Influence  on  Art  —  The  Limita- 
tion of  the  Number  of  the  Royal  Academicians  to  Forty  —  The  Example 
of  Foreign  Academies  in  this  respect  —  Restriction  of  Members  from  exhi- 
biting their  Works  elsewhere  than  at  the  Academy  —  The  Advantages  of  the 
Exhibition  to  Non-Members  —  The  Question  as  to  the  Utility  of  Academies  of 
Art — The  Characteristics  of  the  English  School  ....  PAGE  45 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FOUNDATION  MEMBERS  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  .    .72 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE    ROYAL    ACADEMY   UNDER   THE   PRESIDENCY    OF    SIR   JOSHUA  REYNOLDS, 
1768-1792 124 

Opening  of  the  Royal  Academy  —  Address  of  the  President  —  The  Schools  — 
Election  of  Associate-Engravers  —  The  Annual  Exhibitions  —  Appropriation 
of  its  Funds  —  Lectures  —  Appointment  of  Associates,  a  Librarian,  and  Hono- 
rary Members  —  The  Early  Home  of  the  Academy  —  The  Annual  Dinner — 
Proposal  made  by  the  Academicians  to  decorate  St.  Paul's  —  The  Society  of 
Arts  —  The  Pension  Fund  established  —  The  Pall-Mall  Exhibitions  until  1779 
—  The  Removal  to  Somerset  House,  1780  —  Discontinuance  of  Aid  from  the 
Privy  Purse  —  Complaints  as  to  Exclusion  of  Pictures  —  Peter  Pindar  and 
other  Satirists  attack  the  Academy  —  Boydell's  Shakspeare  Gallery  —  Internal 
Troubles  —  Reynolds's  Resignation  of  the  Office  of  President,  and  Re-accept- 
ance of  it  —  His  last  Discourse  —  Changes  in  the  Academy  by  Death  of 
original,  and  Election  of  new  Members  —  Succession  of  Officers  —  The  Ex- 
hibitions from  1781  to  1791  .  .  .  »  „  .  .  .  .124 


THE  FIRST  VOLUME  xiii 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ROYAL      ACADEMICIANS     ELECTED     DURING      THE      PRESIDENCY     OF     SIR     J. 
REYNOLDS PAGE    176 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ASSOCIATES   ELECTED   DURING   THE   PRESIDENCY  OF    SIR    JOSHUA    REYNOLDS, 
WHO  DID   NOT   SUBSEQUENTLY  BECOME   ROYAL   ACADEMICIANS      .         .      230 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  UNDER  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST,    1792-1820 

Qualifications  of  West  for  the  Office  of  President  —  His  Addresses  —  The  Fate 
of  Proctor  the  Sculptor  —  Publication  of  Bromley's  "History  of  the  Fine 
Arts" — Anthony  Pasquin's  Attacks  on  the  Royal  Academy  —  Royal  Warrant 
for  the  Appointment  of  a  Treasurer  to  succeed  Sir  William  Chambers  — 
Finances  of  the  Academy  —  Pension  Fund  established  —  Dispute  between  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  Council  —  Barry's  Dismissal  from  the  Office  of 
Professor  of  Painting  and  from  the  Academy  —  Grant  towards  the  Fund  for 
the  Exigencies  of  the  State  —  Laws  as  to  Students  amended  —  Award  of 
Pensions  to  Widows  of  deceased  Members  —  Illness  of  the  King,  as  it  affected 
West,  and  the  Progress  of  the  Arts  —  Temporary  Resignation  of  the  President 
—  His  Plan  for  a  National  Association  of  Art  —  Artists'  Volunteer  Corps  — 
Prince  Hoare's  Academic  Annals  and  Foreign  Correspondence  —  Establishment 
of  the  (Old)  Water  Colour  Society  and  the  British  Institution  —  John 
Landseei's  Appeal  for  full  Academic  Honours  for  Engravers  —  Varnishing 
Days  —  Financial  Arrangements  amended  in  1809  —  Complimentary  Presents 
made  by  the  Academy  —  Premiums  offered  by  the  British  Institution  —  The 
Commemoration  of  Reynolds,  1813 — Waterloo  Memorial  proposed  —  Canova's 
Visit  to  England  —  Exclusion  of  G.  H.  Harlowe  from  the  Royal  Academy— > 
Privileges  of  Students,  and  Increase  of  Allowances  to  travelling  Students  — 
Pensions  augmented  —  Commemoration  of  Fiftieth  Anniversary  —  Last  Years 
and  Death  of  the  President  —  Changes  among  the  Members  and  Officers  of  the 
Academy  —  Its  Financial  Position  —  The  Exhibitions  .  .  .  248 


xiv  CONTENTS  OF  THE  FIRST  VOLUME 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ROYAL     ACADEMICIANS     ELECTED     DURING     THE      PRESIDENCY    OF     BENJAMIN 
WEST       .  PAGE  290 


CHAPTER  X. 

ASSOCIATES   ELECTED   DURING   THE    PRESIDENTSHIP  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST,    WHO 
DID    NOT    SUBSEQUENTLY    BECOME    ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS       .  .  395 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

IN  '. 

THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY,  1862  :  being  the  East  Wing  of  the  National  Gallery, 

Trafalgar  Square     . Frontispiece 

THE  OLD  ACADEMY  in  Peter's  Court,  St.  Martin's  Lane         .         .         .    PAGE  23 
Sra  JOSHTTA  REYNOLDS,  P.R.A. 124 

(From  the  Portrait  by  Himself,  in  possession  of  the  Royal  Academy.) 

VIEW  OF  THE  OLD  ROYAL  ACADEMY  in  Pall  Mall,  1769-1779         .        .         .125 
f  From  a  Drawing  in  the  Print  Room  of  the  British  Museum.) 

PORTION  OF  OLD  SOMERSET  HOUSE,  occupied  by  the  Royal  Academy,  1771-9  139 
(From  an  aquatints  Print  by  W.  Moss.) 

THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  in  New  Somerset  House,  1780—1837  ....  165 

BENJAMIN  WEST,  P.R.A 249 

(From  the  Portrait  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A.) 


THE   HISTORY 


OF  THE 


KOYAL  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   EARLY  HISTORY  OF   THE   FINE   ARTS   IN   ENGLAND 

Influence  of  Art  —  The  English  School  a  comparatively  Modern  Creation  — 
Causes  of  its  tardy  Development  —  Notices  of  Art  and  Artists  in  the  Saxon 
and  Norman  Periods —  The  Foreign  Schools —  The  Effects  of  the  Invention 
of  Printing  and  of  the  Reformation  upon  Art  —  Its  Condition  in  England 
subsequent  to  the  Reformation  —  Charles  I.  as  a  Patron  of  the  Fine  Arts  — 
TJie  Georgian  Era — Patronage  of  Foreign  Artists  by  the  English  Sovereigns 
—  Connoisseurship  —  Portrait  Painting  —  Decorations  of  CeHinys,  SfC.  — 
Sign  Painters  —  The  Characteristics  of  the  English  School. 

THE  history  of  Art,  in  any  of  its  branches,  is  an  im- 
portant and  interesting  subject ;  for  it  is  in  reality 
little  less  than  the  history  of  the  taste  and  moral  refine- 
ment of  the  people,  their  advancement  in  civilisation,  and 
in  the  appreciation  of  all  that  is  beautiful  and  true.  In 
proportion  to  the  development  of  these  principles  of 
progress,  in  the  same  degree  have  the  arts  flourished ; 
and  those  who  wish  to  observe  the  growth  of  the  one, 
ought  not  indifferently  to  pass  by  the  consideration  of  the 
other.  When  once  the  love  of  art  is  created  in  a  nation, 
it  does  not  rest  satisfied  till  it  has  attained  to  the  possession 
and  enjoyment  of  its  noblest  performances ;  and  thus  the 
advance  towards  perfection,  and  the  healthy  influences  of 

VOL.  I.  B 


2  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  I. 

elevated  and  refined  feelings,  are  combined  together  to 
produce  the  happiest  results  upon  individuals  and  com- 
munities. It  has  been  truly  stated  that  a  taste  for  what 
is  beautiful  is  one  great  step  to  a  taste  for  what  is  good. 
Kings  and  statesmen  may  therefore  regard  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  arts  at  home,  to  be  as  much  a  part  of  their 
duty  as  the  defence  of  their  country  in  the  field,  or  the 
maintenance  of  its  interests  in  the  cabinet.  The  pictured 
morals  of  the  work  of  art  charm  our  minds,  and,  through 
our  eyes,  correct  our  hearts.  Pictures,  it  has  been  well 
said,  are  the  books  of  the  unlettered,  and  they  are  to  be 
read  as  books,  —  the  work  of  one  mind  addressed  to 
another  mind, —  it  being,  however,  necessary,  in  order  to 
derive  real  instruction  from  them,  that  the  language  in 
which  they  are  written  should  be  understood. 

It  was  thus  with  the  influence  of  Art.  in  England.  So 
long  as  it  was  unappreciated  by  the  people,  —  so  long  as 
it  remained  the  refined  and  ennobling  taste  of  the  few, 
—  its  effects  were  but  limited ;  but  when  it  came  at 
length  to  be  made  known  to,  and  understood  by,  the 
many,  then  the  habits  and  tastes  of  the  people  generally 
improved,  and  so  will  continue  to  improve,  in  proportion 
to  the  extension  of  its  pure  and  gracious  influences. 

Yet  it  was  not  till  a  comparatively  recent  period  that 
England  could  boast  of  a  native  School  of  Painting; 
indeed,  a  single  century  embraces  the  period  during  which 
it  can  be  said  that  the  British  School  of  Art  has  been  in 
existence  ;  and  as  we  now  contemplate  the  powers  of  the 
artists  of  this  country,  the  number  of  the  professors  and 
patrons  of  the  fine  arts,  and  the  influence  which  is  thus 
exercised  over  the  tastes  and  tendencies  of  the  people,  we 
cannot  but  rejoice  at  the  progress  which  a  century  has 
effected  in  the  advancement  of  the  fine  arts  in  England. 
The  time  has  long  since  passed  away  when  continental 
critics  were  able  to  suggest  (as  was  done  by  the  Abbe  du 
Bos,  Winckelmann,  and  others)  that  the  frigidity  of  climate 
in  this  country,  operating  upon  the  imagination  of  its 


CH.  L]  EAELY  ENGLISH  ART  3 

inhabitants,  hindered  that  warm  and  vigorous  exertion  of 
fancy  which  enabled  the  Italians  of  old  to  rise  to  fame. 
It  now  needs  no  argument  to  prove  that  in  the  works  of 
the  English  school  there  is  certainly  not  less  originality  of 
thought,  or  variety  of  execution,  or  difference  in  mode  of 
composition,  than  in  any  school  of  art  in  any  age  or 
country,  if  we  except,  indeed,  the  most  celebrated  masters 
of  Italy. 

It  is,  nevertheless,  both  interesting  and  profitable  to 
trace  the  progress  of  the  arts  among  us,  and  to  observe 
the  causes  which  have  operated  to  retard  the  formation 
of  anything  like  a  distinctive  English  School  of  Art  until 
so  late  a  period  in  the  history  of  this  country.  True  it  is 
that  art,  like  the  oak,  grows  but  slowly  and  gradually  to 
maturity  and  strength  ;  but  while  others  of  the  handmaids 
of  civilisation  were  gaining  power  among  us,  painting  and 
the  sister  arts  were  centuries  in  developing  their  beneficial 
influence,  and  rose  but  tardily  to  the  importance  they 
have  now  attained.  A  brief  review  of  the  records  and 
remains  of  art  in  England,  which  are  scattered  up  and 
down  in  the  history  of  the  country,  will  help  us  in  this 
inquiry. 

The  antiquities  which  have  been  preserved  to  us  of 
early  British  and  Saxon  times  are  sufficient  to  prove  that 
architecture  and  sculpture  were  practised  extensively,  and 
that  painting,  or  at  least  design,  with  simple  light  and 
shade,  was  then  understood.  During  the  Norman  period, 
architecture  underwent  a  still  further  development;  but 
ecclesiastics  (and  these  chiefly  foreigners)  designed  the 
cathedrals,  and  painted  the  frescoes,  the  stained  glass,  and 
the  missals  which  adorned  the  libraries  and  the  halls  of  the 
abbeys  and  monasteries.  Henry  III.  (121G-1272)  was  an 
earnest  patron  of  the  fine  arts,  founding  cathedrals,  and 
enriching  them  with  sculpture  and  painting.  It  was  at 
this  period,  and  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  (A.D.  1327- 
1377),  that  the  works  in  the  Painted  Chamber  and  St. 
Stephen's  Chapel,  Westminster,  were  executed. 

D  2 


4  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

A  long  blank  interval  succeeds,  during  which  artists 
</nly  copied  the  forms  of  saints  and  angels  which  had  been 
transmitted  from  preceding  generations,  and  entered  upon 
the  work  of  illuminations  for  missals  and  books  of  chivalry 
and  romance,  which  eventually  led  the  way  to  better 
things.  There  is  a  very  curious  portrait  of  Eichard  II. 
(1377-99),  preserved  in  an  ancient  diptych,  the  property 
of  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  which  was  exhibited  at  Man- 
chester in  1857,  representing  the  King,  with  his  patron 
saints  (St.  George  and  John  the  Baptist)  on  the  one  wing, 
and  the  '  Madonna  and  Child,'  with  angels,  on  the  other. 
There  is  also  a  full-length  portrait  of  this  monarch,  belong- 
ing to  the  Dean  and  Chapter,  at  Westminster ;  but  it  is 
supposed  to  be  a  work  of  a  later  period.  In  the  reign  of 
Henry  VI.  (1422-1461),  England  possessed  at  least  one 
celebrated  native  artist,  in  the  person  of  William  Austen, 
who,  in  executing  the  famous  monument  to  Eichard  de 
Beauchamp,  Earl  of  Warwick,  in  St.  Mary's  Church  at 
Warwick,  is  considered  to  have  rivalled  his  great  con- 
temporaries in  Italy,  DonateUo  and  Grhiberti.  In  the 
reign  of  the  next  Henry  (1485-1509),  when  painting  had 
elevated  Italy  to  the  highest  dignity  among  the  nations, 
the  arts  in  England  found  a  more  liberal  patron  than 
in  any  previous  British  monarch ;  the  painters,  Jan 
Mabuse  and  Hans  Holbein,  were  employed  by  him,  and 
the  famous  Chapel  of  Hemy  VII.  at  Westminster  was 
erected.  Most  of  the  portraits  of  the  illustrious  personages 
of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  we  owe  to  Holbein ;  and  an 
invitation  was  also  given  by  the  same  monarch  to  Eaffaelle, 
requesting  him  to  visit  the  English  court.  Although  this 
proved  unsuccessful,  several  of  his  pupils,  and  other 
Italian  artists,  found  employment  in  this  country  during 
the  reign  of  the  last  of  the  Henries.  Sir  Anthony  More 
was  the  principal  painter  to  Queen  Mary ;  and  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  (1558-1603),  two  English  artists, 
Nicholas  Hilliard,  and  his  pupil,  Isaac  Oliver,  distinguished 
themselves  as  miniature  painters. 


CH.  L]         FOREIGN  SCHOOLS  OF  ART  5 

Abroad,  the  chief  glory  of  the  arts  was  in  connection 
with  the  teaching  of  religion.  The  first  specimens  of 
Christian  art  were  found  in  the  Eoman  catacombs  ;  next 
came  the  mosaics  of  the  Italian  and  Sicilian  cities,  and 
the  illumination  of  books  of  devotion.  The  Byzantines 
followed  with  their  paintings  on  wood  of  the  '  Madonna 
and  Child,'  and  figures  of  the  saints.  Then  began  the 
revival  of  the  arts  in  the  formation  of  the  Italian  schools, 
framed  on  Byzantine  models, —  the  Siennese  beginning 
with  Oderico  in  1213 ;  the  Florentine  with  Cimabue  and 
Giotto  in  1276  ;  the  Umbrian  in  1368 ;  the  Eoman,  re- 
presented by  Eaffaelle  and  his  followers,  in  1483 ;  and 
a  host  of  others  of  less  note,  which  multiplied  and  pros- 
pered until  the  period  of  their  decline  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  These  are,  however,  remarkable  for  their 
separate  and  independent  development,  which  reached  its 
culminating  point  in  Eafiaelle  and  his  illustrious  contem- 
poraries. While  the  genius  of  the  Italian  artists  was  thus 
gradually  improving  the  art  of  painting,  there  were  in 
Germany  the  early  masters  of  Cologne  (1297-1357),  and 
the  later  ones,  with  Albert  Durer  at  their  head,  in  1471, 
— the  Flemish  school  beginning  with  Van  Eyck  (1370) ; 
the  Dutch  with  Eembrandt  (1606)  and  his  followers ;  and 
the  French  and  Spanish  schools,  each  attaining  to  the 
zenith  of  their  power  about  the  same  time  with  those  we 
have  mentioned. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  decline  of  painting  was 
simultaneous  with  the  invention  and  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  powers  of  the  printing  press.  A  more  effec- 
tive means  of  diffusing  knowledge  was  thus  set  in  action, 
and  by  it  art  was  deprived  of  its  higher  and  nobler  aims 
as  the  chief  instructor  of  mankind.  To  the  principles  of 
the  Eefonnation1  also  have  been  attributed  the  tardy 
growth  in  England  of  the  taste  for  art  which  seemed  to 


1  See  Barry's  "  Inquiry  into  the  Obstructions  to  the  Acquisition  of  the 
Arts  iu  England." 


6  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

have  been  previously  awakened.  Painting  was  no  longer 
employed  as  one  of  the  chief  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tors of  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  the  preachers  of  religion 
no  longer  attempted  to  enforce  their  doctrines  and  pre- 
cepts by  its  aid ;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  removal 
of  all  the  images  and  paintings  from  the  churches  which 
then  took  place  was  inimical  to  the  prospects  of  art  at  the 
time.  Queen  Elizabeth  showed  little  favour  to  its  pro- 
fessors ;  and  her  personal  objection  to  any  illustration  of 
religious  truths  by  pictorial  representation  may  not  unna- 
turally have  led  to  the  impression  that  the  Eeformation, 
which  she  so  strongly  advocated,  was  equally  opposed  to 
all  productions  of  art.  Such,  however,  is  very  far  from 
being  the  case  ;  for  the  experience  of  modern  times  shows 
that  the  Reformed  faith,  if  it  has  checked  the  almost 
exclusive  application  of  art  to  religious  topics,  and  the 
reproduction  of  conventional  forms  for  devotional  pur- 
poses, has  opened  to  it  an  endless  field  in  the  varied 
materials  which  the  freedom  of  thought,  liberty  of  inquiry, 
and  extension  of  general  knowledge  will  always  continue 
to  discover  and  suggest.  Nor,  indeed,  is  there  any  sub- 
ject so  replete  with  incidents  picturesque,  graphic,  various, 
and  touching,  as  that  which  the  history  of  the  Bible,  and 
especially  the  life  of  the  Divine  Founder  of  the  Christian 
faith,  affords  to  the  painter.  It  was  the  mere  superstitious 
repetition  of  pictures  for  the  purposes  of  worship  which 
the  Reformation  condemned,  not  the  representation  of  any 
actual  event  in  that  most  true  and  characteristic  chronicle 
of  the  history  of  mankind. 

But,  with  such  influences  at  work,  it  became  necessary 
to  create  a  new  taste  for  art  in  England.  There  were  no 
longer  commonwealths,  as  of  old  time,  seeking  to  record 
by  its  aid  their  fame  and  progress  for  posterity  to  admire 
and  emulate  ;  churches  and  convents  no  longer  called  for 
the  best  energies  of  the  painter  to  adorn  the  shrine  to 
which  myriads  of  pilgrims  thronged,  or  where  devotees 
worshipped,  with  representations  of  saintly  beauty  or 


CH.  I.]  CHARLES  I.  A  PATRON  OF  THE  ARTS  7 

faith  or  zeal ;  and  art  had,  therefore,  henceforth  to  depend 
upon  the  individual  patronage  of  the  wealthy  classes  until 
it  could  awaken  public  sympathy  for  classical  or  religious 
subjects.  Hence  its  first  support,  under  this  altered  state 
of  things,  was  in  the  lord  or  the  rich  citizen  desiring  to 
adorn  his  mansion,  —  in  the  first  instance,  probably,  with 
family  portraits,  but,  as  his  taste  improved,  with  other 
works  more  distinctly  the  productions  of  high  artistic 
genius  and  imagination.  Portrait  painting  was  the  branch 
of  art  which  Queen  Elizabeth  principally  encouraged ;  and 
her  example  was  followed  by  her  subjects,  and  by  her 
successor,  James  I.  (1603-1625),  who  employed  Paul 
Vansomer,  Jansen,  and  Myttens,  all  Dutch  artists,  and  the 
English  miniature  painter,  Peter  Oliver.  Nicholas  Stone, 
the  sculptor,  was  also  eminent  in  this  reign. 

It  is  to  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  (1625-1649)  that  we  must 
turn  for  the  brightest  page  in  the  early  history  of  art  in 
England.  Then  it  was  that  the  first  royal  collection  of 
pictures  was  formed,  and  that  the  sovereign  became  truly 
the  liberal  patron  of  art.  The  Eoyal  Gallery  (formed  partly 
of  the  pictures  gathered  together  by  Henry  VIII.  and  by 
Prince  Henry,  and  subsequently  enriched  by  the  assem- 
blage of  works  made  by  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  by  presents 
of  pictures  from  foreign  courts,  and  by  purchases  judi- 
ciously made  by  King  Charles  himself)  numbered  460 
pictures,  including  the  famous  cartoons  of  RafFaelle  and 
Mantegna,  and  many  works  by  Eembrandt,  Correggio, 
Titian,  Rubens,  Paul  Veronese,  and  other  eminent  masters. 
These  were  intended  only  as  the  commencement  of  a 
much  larger  collection  ;  and  agents  of  the  King  travelled 
over  the  continent,  paying  handsomely  for  the  pictures 
they  bought.  Many  of  these  works  were  destroyed  in  the 
fire  at  the  Old  Palace  of  Whitehall,  and  many  more  were 
dispersed  during  the  Commonwealth.  To  the  visit  of 
Rubens,  as  the  ambassador  of  the  Infanta  of  Spain,  and 
the  King's  cordial  welcome  to  the  illustrious  artist,  we  owe 
that  noble  work,  '  The  Apotheosis  of  King  James,'  painted 


8  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

by  him  for  the  ceiling  of  the  banqueting-hall  of  Whitehall. 
For  this  work  he  received  £3000  and  the  honour  of 
knighthood.  Another  celebrated  painter,  Vandyke,  who 
had  studied  under  Eubens,  was  admitted  into  the  ranks  of 
the  royal  painters,  and  was  also  knighted  by  Charles  I. ; 
while  at  the  same  time  English  artists  received  gracious 
and  liberal  encouragement.  Among  these  the  principal 
were  William  Dobson,  Eobert  Walker,  and  George 
Jameson,  eminent  as  portrait  painters ;  Francis  Barlow, 
known  by  his  pictures  of  hawking  and  birds  on  the  wing ; 
Gibson,  the  dwarf,  who  drew  heads  admirably  in  water- 
colours;  and  Nicholas  ("old")  Stone, an  excellent  colourist. 
The  constant  employment  given  by  the  King  to  Inigo 
Jones,  the  architect,  was  another  instance  of  his  good 
taste,  and  his  desire  to  promote  the  cause  of  art.  It  was 
in  this  reign,  also,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  mention 
more  in  detail  hereafter,  that  the  first  attempt  was  made 
to  establish  a  public  school  of  art. 

The  troublous  times  which  followed  these  happy  days 
of  poor  Charles  I.  swept  away  much  of  the  impulse  he 
had  given  to  the  cultivation  of  a  taste  for  art.  The  pic- 
tures he  had  collected  were  sold,  and  depreciated  as  worse 
than  valueless ;  the  taste  for  painting  was  regarded  as 
sinful;  monuments  were  looked  upon  by  the  eyes  of 
Puritans  either  as  idolatries  or  marks  of  pride  and  vain- 
glory ;  and  when  a  reaction  followed  the  stern  severities 
of  the  Commonwealth  at  the  period  of  the  Eestoration 
(1660),  we  trace  the  influence  of  the  dissolute  spirit  of  the 
times  in  the  meretricious  graces  of  the  beauties  of  the 
court  of  Charles  II.,  as  preserved  to  us  in  the  works  of 
Sir  Peter  Lely  at  Hampton  Court,  who  succeeded  Van- 
dyke as  the  court  painter,  but  did  not  equal  him  .in  ability. 
Antonio  Verrio,  the  painter  of  the  allegories  on  ceilings, 
which  came  into  fashion  at  this  time,  and  the  Vander- 
veldes,  the  marine  painters,  were  employed  in  England 
during  this  reign  ;  and  Samuel  Cooper  was  a  native  minia- 
ture painter  of  great  merit.  In  architecture  we  find  the 


CH.  I.]        PREFERENCE  SHOWN  TO  FOREIGN  ARTISTS  9 

single  illustrious  name  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  the  archi- 
tect of  St.  Paul's ;  and  in  sculpture  those  of  Colley  Gibber 
and  Grinling  Gibbons. 

The  next  step  in  this  brief  retrospect  brings  Sir  Godfrey 
Kneller  before  us,  in  1674,  as  the  successor  of  Lely.  He 
continued  to  paint  portraits  of  all  the  illustrious  personages 
till  the  time  of  George  I.,  and  was  long  the  favourite  court 
painter,  having  been  knighted  by  William  III.  and  created 
a  baronet  by  George  I.  John  Eiley  also  received  some 
degree  of  notice  from  James  II.  and  from  William  and 
Mary ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  large  number  of  foreign 
artists,  whose  names  are  now  forgotten,  or  very  little 
known,  were  finding  lucrative  employment  in  England. 
In  Queen  Anne's  reign  the  decline  of  good  painting  and 
the  practice  of  forging  copies  of  works  of  eminent  artists 
are  noticeable  ;  and  when  George  I.  came  to  the  throne 
(1714)  the  prospect  of  raising  the  position  of  artists,  or 
of  improving  the  public  taste  for  art  in  England,  seemed  as 
remote  as  it  had  ever  been. 

The  main  cause  of  this  melancholy  state  of  things  was 
to  be  found  in  the  practice  of  preferring  foreign  painters 
to  the  only  lucrative  appointments  for  artists  in  the  gift  of 
the  Crown,  and  thus  leading  all  other  patrons  of  art  to 
suppose  that  nothing  but  mediocrity  could  be  looked  for 
among  our  native  artists.  The  absence  of  any  collections 
of  pictures  hindered  any  correction  of  this  erroneous  im- 
pression by  a  comparison  of  the  productions  of  the  one 
with  the  other ;  while  the  English  artists  also  laboured 
under  the  disadvantage  of  being  unable  to  study  the  works 
of  the  great  masters  of  the  Italian  schools.  It  is  greatly 
to  their  honour  and  credit  that,  notwith standing  their 
difficulties  in  self-improvement,  and  the  unfair  prejudice 
against  them  on  the  part  of  English  art-patrons,  they  at 
length  overcame,  by  dint  of  their  own  energy  and  by  the 
power  of  their  own  genius,  the  depreciation  of  their 
talents  so  unfairly  excited  by  the  example  of  the  highest 
personages  in  the  realm.  The  succession  of  court 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

painters  domiciled  in  England,  and  monopolising  court 
patronage,  gradually  became  smaller  as  they  found  them- 
selves unable  to  compete  in  talent  with  the  English  artists. 
Laguerre,  the  French  painter  of  allegories  for  ceilings ; 
Canaletto,  the  gifted  Venetian  landscape  painter;  Dahl, 
Netzcher,  and  Denner,  the  Dutch  portrait  painters,  are 
among  the  last  of  the  immigrants  from  abroad.  Charles 
Jervas,  Jonathan  Eichardson,  and  Sir  James  Thornhill, 
painters,  and  Hawkesmoor  and  Gibbs,  the  architects,  are 
added  to  the  list  of  English  artists  in  the  reign  of  George  I. 
(1714-1727).  Many  of  these  continued  their  labours  in 
the  reign  of  his  successor  (1727-1760);  and  to  these 
must  then  be  added  Hudson,  the  master  of  Eeynolds ; 
Francis  Hayman,  the  historical  painter ;  Samuel  Scott  and 
George  Lambert,  landscape  painters  ;  Knapton  and  Cotes, 
famous  in  portraiture ;  the  illustrious  William  Hogarth ; 
and  most  of  the  artists  who  will  hereafter  be  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
who  were  then  rising  into  notice.1 

From  this  cursory  glance  at  the  history  of  art  in  Eng- 
land we  are  able  to  discover  why  so  little  progress  was 
made  in  the  formation  of  a  native  school  of  painting  until 
such  a  very  recent  period.  As  far  as  its  advancement 
depended  upon  the  fostering  care  of  the  government,  the 
whole  interval  between  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  and  the 
commencement  of  the  reign  of  George  HI.  is  little  more 
than  a  blank.  In  literature  and  science,  as  well  as  in 
art,  some  great  characters  have  thrown  a  lustre  upon  the 
dark  periods  of  history  by  their  exertions  and  attain- 
ments,— the  more  conspicuous,  perhaps,  in  the  absence  of 
all  public  encouragement.  Thus  Milton,  Wren,  Barrow, 
Locke,  Newton,  and  Flamsteed,  rise  up  as  illustrious 


1  A  more  detailed  account  of  the  "Anecdotes  of  Painting  in  England," 

foreign  artists  who  were  practising  and  in  W.  B.  S.  Taylor's  "Origin, 

in  England  in  early  times,  and  of  Progress,   and  present  Condition  of 

the  native   professors   of    the   arts,  the   Fine  Arts   in   Great  Britain." 

will  be  found  in  Horace  Walpole's  2  vols.  8vo.  1841. 


CH.  I]  CONNOISSEURSIIIP  11 

examples  ;  and  Addison,  Steele,  Prior,  Bolingbroke, 
Walpole,  Swift,  Pope,  and  Halley,  are  other  instances 
in  which  men  of  talent  rose  to  eminence  without  re- 
quiring the  encouragement  of  government.  A  golden 
chain  links  together  in  unbroken  succession  some  few 
men  in  each  generation  whose  talent  was  sufficiently 
conspicuous  to  prevent  the  reproach  of  there  being  any 
time  when  England  had  no  representative  of  art-talent 
among  its  own  people.  But  from  the  little  inclination 
evinced  by  the  greater  number  of  the  English  sovereigns 
to  foster  the  arts,  a  popular  taste  for  them  was  not  created 
in  the  nation  generally ;  and  when  the  patronage  of  the 
aristocracy  began  to  be  turned  into  this  channel,  the  ex- 
ample of  the  court  in  choosing  foreigners,  even  as  portrait 
painters,  was  generally  followed. 

It  was  not,  however,  that  there  was  no  patronage  of 
art,  or  taste  for  it,  in  England ;  on  the  contrary,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Georgian  era  there  was  a  perfect  rage  of 
connoisseurship  ;  but  it  was  injudicious,  and  itself  created 
many  of  the  obstacles  to  the  true  advancement  of  art.  It 
was  the  picture  dealer  who  was  in  the  ascendant,  who 
imported  and  sold  at  large  prices  copies,  imitations,  and 
studies  by  obscure  artists  of  all  the  renowned  works  of 
the  artists  of  Italy  and  Flanders,  giving  to  these  produc- 
tions the  names  of  the  great  masters  of  ancient  art. 
Thus  in  Gwyn's  "Essay  on  Design,"  &c.,  published  in 
1749,  it  is  said — "  We  often  hear  of  a  sum  given  for  a 
single  work  of  an  ancient  master  that  equals  the  annual 
revenue  of  a  gentleman's  estate ;  and  sometimes  in  those 
cases  the  ignorance  of  the  purchaser,  or  the  knavery  of 
the  seller,  imposes  a  copy  of  little  value  instead  of  an 
original."  Indeed  it  is  found  at  all  times  that  a  demand 
for  certain  articles  of  commerce  at  once  creates  the  sup- 
ply; and  as  Baflaelles,  Correggios,  and  Rembrandts  are 
in  request,  so  they  are  quickly  made  for  sale ;  and  the 
ingenuity  and  skill  of  the  manufacturers  are  exerted  to 
the  utmost  to  meet  the  required  demand.  This  is  done 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

in  two  ways,  —  by  the  conversion  of  genuine  pictures  of 
one  master  into  spurious  pictures  attributed  to  another, 
and  by  bold  and  entire  forgery. 

While  thus  a  false  taste  was  generated,  and  the  limited 
patronage  of  art  was  unwisely  exercised,  it  is  also  to  the 
absence  of  any  large  schemes  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment to  foster  the  growth  of  native  talent  that  the  tardy 
development  of  the  English  school  must  be  attributed. 
It  is  by  such  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  that  kingdoms 
have  acquired  dignity  and  reputation  ;  and  history, 
whether  ancient  or  modern,  shows  how  intimately  such 
encouragement  is  connected  with  advancement  in  every- 
thing that  is  valuable  in  science,  literature,  and  philo- 
sophy. Experience  has  proved  that  free  governments 
such  as  that  of  England  are  most  suitable  to  the  produc- 
tion of  native  talents,  to  the  maturity  of  the  powers  of  the 
human  mind,  and  to  the  growth  of  every  species  of  excel- 
lence, since  they  only  open  to  merit  the  prospect  of  reward 
and  distinction. 

The  absence  of  such  encouragement  in  this  country  in 
former  tunes,  the  exclusive  patronage  of  foreign  artists  by 
the  few  who  cared  for  art  at  all,  and  the  rage  of  connois- 
seurs in  collecting  "  old  masters," — many  of  them  of  most 
melancholy  modern  manufacture, — led  the  English  artists 
of  the  last  century  to  endeavour  to  get  a  living  by  copying 
such  works  of  excellence  of  this  kind  as  they  could  obtain 
access  to,  and  to  imitate,  as  much  as  possible,  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  older  painters  in  their  modern  representations, 
both  of  persons  and  of  English  scenery.  Thus  portraits 
were  painted  in  the  positions  and  costumes  depicted  by  the 
painters  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  and  land- 
scapes of  our  own  country  were  constructed  from  prints,  after 
the  works  of  the  old  Dutch  and  French  masters.  Hogarth 
ridiculed — and  very  properly — this  servile  adaptation  of 
so  much  that  was  inconsistent  with  our  own  national 
characteristics,  and  in  all  his  graphic  delineations  drew 
from  nature,  employing  no  fictitious  means  for  heightening 


CH.  I.]  PAINTERS  OF  SIGNS  AND  CEILINGS.  13 

the  effect  of  his  truthful  representations.  His  men  and 
women  were  just  such  as  could  have  been  seen  in  London 
streets  in  his  time ;  his  backgrounds  were  sketches  of 
familiar  haunts  of  the  people  he  represented ;  and  all  was 
real  and  lifelike,  because  all  was  natural  and  true.  What 
he  accomplished  for  genre  painting  was  effected  by  his 
contemporary,  Paul  Sandby,  for  landscape  painting.  He 
went  to  nature  for  his  prototype,  and  thus  drew  real  views 
of  English  scenery ;  whereas  his  predecessors  had  com- 
posed their  pictures  in  part  from  the  scene  represented,  and 
partly  from  inserted  "  bits  "  and  effects,  copied  from  the 
older  foreign  artists,  or  else  confined  themselves  to  those 
elaborate  topographical  drawings  of  perspective  views  and 
bird's-eye  panoramas  which  were  in  vogue  at  that  period. 

One  means  of  employment  for  painters  for  nearly  a 
century  after  the  Eestoration  was  the  internal  decoration 
of  the  royal  palaces  and  the  mansions  of  the  nobility  by 
an  adaptation  of  the  plafond  painting  which  was  so 
popular  in  France  under  Louis  XIV.  We  have  mentioned 
Verrio  and  Laguerre,  and  even  Eubens,  as  so  employed ; 
and  the  chief  occupation  of  Sir  James  Thornhill  was  the 
painting  of  walls  and  ceilings,  for  which  he  was  paid  by 
measurement,  at  so  much  per  yard.  Thus  for  the  designs 
in  the  great  hall  of  Greenwich  Hospital  he  received  £3 
per  yard.  Copyists  were  employed  on  an  inferior  scale, 
to  fill  up  panels  with  landscapes  and  subjects  from  the  old 
masters  at  forty  or  fifty  shillings  each,  and  this  tended  to 
depreciate  the  demand  for  works  of  a  higher  character. 
Many  artists,  and  these  men  of  ability,  often  found  employ- 
ment in  painting  coach-panels  with  groups  of  allegorical 
figures,  flowers,  &c.  Among  them  were  included  Hogarth, 
Catton,  and  Cipriani. 

Before  the  changes  which  took  place  in  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  London  soon  after  the  accession  of  George  IH., 
caused  by  the  acts  of  Parliament  ordering  the  removal  of 
obstructions  from  the  public  thoroughfares,  the  universal 
use  of  Signs,  not  only  for  taverns  and  ale-houses,  but  also 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  I. 

for  the  shops  of  general  tradesmen,  proved  the  greatest 
resource  of  the  English  artists  in  obtaining  employment. 
Addison1  complains  of  the  bad  taste  which  many  of  these 
displayed.  "  There  are  daily  absurdities  hung  out  upon  the 
sign-posts  of  this  city,  to  the  great  scandal  of  foreigners,  as 
well  as  those  of  our  own  country,  who  are  curious  spectators 
of  the  same.  .  .  .  Our  streets  are  filled  with  '  Blue  Boars,' 
'  Black  Swans,'  and  '  Eed  Lions,'  not  to  mention  '  Flying 
Pigs,'  and  '  Hogs  in  Armour,'  with  many  other  creatures 
more  extraordinary  than  any  in  the  deserts  of  Africa."2 
But  all  were  not  of  this  character ;  for  some  of  those  painted 
by  Catton,  Wale,  and  Lamb,  are  described  as  bold  and 
masterly  works.  The  head,  and  sometimes  the  whole- 
length,  figure  of  Shakespeare  or  other  celebrities  formed 
a  frequent  subject,  and  afforded  ample  scope  for  talent ; 
indeed,  such  paintings  often  attracted  attention  by  their 
excellence  as  works  of  art.  There  was  a  market  esta- 
blished for  the  sale  of  these  signs  in  Harp  Alley,  Shoe 
Lane ;  and  at  a  somewhat  later  period  than  that  to  which 
we  are  now  referring  (17  62),  an  exhibition  was  made3  by  the 
"  Society  of  Sign-painters  "  of  "  a  most  magnificent  collec- 


1  "  Spectator,"  No.  28,  2nd  April,  are  ridiculous  enough.    No.  8  was 
1711.  the   '  Vicar  of  Bray,'  an  ass  in  a 

2  There  is  no  doubt  that  heraldry  feather-topped    grizzle,   bauds,   and 
is  the  source  whence  these  devices  pudding  sleeves.    No.  9,  '  The  Irish 
were   derived :    the  first  three  are  Arms,'  represents  a  pah-  of  thick  legs 
plainly  a  boar,  azure  ;  a  lion,  gules ;  in  white  stockings  and  black  gaiters. 
a  swan,  sable.     Besides  those   de-  No.  16,  '  A  Man '  personified  by  nine 
rived  from  heraldry  (the  arms  fre-  tailors  at  work.     No.  19,  '  Nobody 
quently  of  the  landed  proprietors  in  alias  Somebody,' — being  the  figure  of 
each  locality),  many  of  the  ancient  an  officer  all  head,  arms,  and  legs, 
signs  had  a  religious  origin :  as  the  so  drawn  as  not  to  miss  the  body ; 
f  Golden  Cross/  the '  Lamb  and  Flag,'  and  its  companion,  '  Somebody  alias 
or  '  Agnus  Dei,'   &c.     Portraits  of  Nobody,'  with  little  head  and  huge 
famous  personages  and  the  reigning  body,  holding  a  staff  with  a  great 
sovereign  furnished  another   class ;  air  of  importance.     These  last  were 
while  those  emblematical  of  Inns  attributed  to  Hogarth.     The  well- 
and  of  trades  supplied   an   endless  known  sign  of '  A  man  loaded  with 
variety  of  subjects  for  the  painter's  mischief,'  i.  e.  carrying  a  woman,  a 
skill.  magpie,  and  a  monkey  on  his  back, 

3  An  account  is  given  of  the  sub-  was   also   there :   and  many  others 
jects  of  the  signs  in  the  "  London  characterised  by  wit  and  humour. 
Register"  for  17G2.     Some  of  them 


CH.  I.]         CHARACTER  OF  THE  ENGLISH  SCHOOL  15 

tion  of  portraits,  landscapes,  flower-pieces,  history-pieces, 
night-pieces,  Scripture-pieces,  &c.,  designed  by  the  ablest 
masters,  and  executed  by  the  best  hands  in  these  kingdoms.'' 
It  was  held  "  at  the  large  room,  the  upper  end  of  Bow 
Street,  Covent  Garden,  nearly  opposite  the  Playhouse 
Passage,"  and  seems  to  have  afforded  much  amusement 
at  a  time  when  exhibitions  of  pictures  of  any  kind  were 
a  novelty.1 

From  these  glimpses  at  the  history  of  art  in  England 
we  see  that  the  time  was  yet  to  come  when  its  professors 
should  attain  their  rightful  position,  and  be  permitted  to 
exercise  their  skill  on  objects  worthy  of  the  efforts  of 
genius,  and  when  they  should  receive  something  approach- 
ing an  adequate  reward  for  their  labour.  Yet  amidst  all 
the  disadvantages  under  which  it  was  called  into  existence, 
the  English  school,  founded  upon  the  feelings  and  require- 
ments of  the  age  rather  than  upon  any  exalted  theories  of 
art,  at  once  assumed  the  common-sense  character  of  the 
people.  Its  professors  devoted  themselves  to  portraiture, 
to  landscape,  and  the  representation  of  scenes  of  domestic 
life.  In  these  they  have  excelled ;  and  as  the  national 
taste  improved,  poetical  and  historical  composition  found 
its  exponents  and  its  patrons,  as  knowledge  and  refinement 
made  progress  among  us. 

Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  art  mingles  in  the 
education,  softens  the  labours,  adds  to  the  amusement, 
and  is  becoming  the  agreeable  and  elevating  enjoyment  of 
the  many ;  while  it  was  in  former  days,  and  those  not  long 
distant,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  few.  All  who  have 
some  natural  appreciation  of  colour,  proportion,  and 
harmony,  can  now  store  their  memories  with  agreeable 
recollections,  and  their  minds  with  images  of  beauty,  as 
they  pass  through  life,  whether  it  be  spent  in  town  or 


1  This  exhibition  was  planned  by  Exhibition.     It  was  very  successful, 

the  Nonsense  Club,  and  managed  by  and  gavo  no  offence  even  to  those 

Bonnel  Thornton,  who  intended  it  whom  it  was  intended  to  ridicule, 
as  a  joke,  in  opposition  to  the  Artists' 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cii.  I. 

country.  All  may  possess  a  painter's  eye,  though  they 
may  not  be  able  to  use  a  painter's  brush ;  and  with  it  the 
objects  of  every  landscape  will  group  themselves  in  new 
forms  of  beauty.  There  will  be  new  richness  in  every 
gleam  of  light,  new  solemnity  in  every  deepening  shade. 
So,  too,  when  we  understand  the  principles,  and  trace  the 
history  of  architecture,  we  shall  find  in  every  stone  in 
the  ancient  church  or  ruined  castle  or  abbey,  something 
by  which  we  are  drawn  back  into  the  long-forgotten  past ; 
and  every  sculptured  form  will  have  its  history  or  its 
power  of  awakening  our  sympathy  or  admiration.  In 
proportion  as  such  sources  of  pleasant  and  elevating 
thought  are  increased,  and  better  appreciated,  both  as 
means  of  instruction  and  as  sources  of  enjoyment,  will  be 
the  extension  of  the  genial  influences  of  the  arts,  and  the 
increase  of  employment  for  those  artists  who  recognise  the 
high  purpose  they  have  to  accomplish. 


17 


CHAPTEE  II. 

EARLY  ACADEMIES   OP  AET    IN   ENGLAND 

The  Necessity  and  Advantages  of  the  Study  of  Art  —  TJie  Ancient  Guikls  of 
Art  —  The  "Museum  Minervce"  in  Charles  I.  's  Reign  —  John  Evelyn's 
Plan  for  an  Academy  of  Art  —  Private  Academies  established  by  Sir  G. 
Knetter,  Sir  J.  Thornhitt,  and  Hogarth  —  Offer  of  Aid  in  founding  an  Art 
Academy  made  by  the  Society  of  Dilettanti  —  Project  of  a  Public  Academy 
of  the  Arts  in  1753  —  Nesbitfs  "Essay  on  the  Necessity  of  a  Royal  Academy  " 
in  1755  —  The  Duke  of  Richmond's  School  of  Design  —  The  Exhibition  of 
Pictures  painted  for  t/ie  Foundling  Hospital  —  The  First  General  Exhibition 
of  Pictures  in  1760  —  The  First  Society  of  Artists  —  The  seceding  "  Free 
Society  of  Artists"  —  Apology  for  the  Charge  for  Admission  to  the  Exhibition 
by  Dr.  Johnson  —  Strife  and  Dissension  in  the  "  Incorporated  Society  of 
Artists  of  Great  Britain  "  —  Resignation  of  the  Original  Directors. 


study  of  the  fine  arts  has  a  tendency  more  direct 
J-  than  any  other  branch  of  education  to  improve  and 
elevate  the  mind  and  to  purify  and  refine  the  taste  ; 
and  the  better  the  arts  become  generally  understood,  the 
more  will  artists  be  stimulated  to  attain  to  higher  excel- 
lence. For  if  the  works  they  produce  are  to  appeal  to 
the  moral  feelings  or  the  imagination  of  the  beholder,  to 
inspire  him  with  a  love  of  nature,  or  to  impress  upon  his 
mind  representations  of  transactions  which  have  engaged 
the  attention  of  mankind  at  other  times  than  our  own, 
the  artist  must  himself  have  undergone  a  preparatory 
process  of  study,  not  only  more  detailed  and  technical,  but 
also  of  the  general  principles  of  art,  by  which  his  own 
mind  is  enabled  to  suggest,  as  well  as  his  skilful  hand  to 
execute,  works  which  are  to  impress  the  minds  and  to  open 
sources  of  enjoyment  to  others.  On  this  subject  Cousin  ob- 
serves, that  "  every  work  of  art,  whatever  may  be  its  form, 
small  or  great,  figured,  sung,  or  uttered  —  every  work  of  art, 
VOL.  i.  c 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  II. 

truly  beautiful  or  sublime,  throws  the  soul  into  a  gentle  or 
severe  reverie  that  elevates  it  above  grosser  tastes.  The  emo- 
tion that  the  beautiful  produces  has  a  civilising  influence ; 
it  is  the  beneficent  result  that  art  procures  for  humanity." 

The  practice  of  painting,  when  first  extended  beyond 
the  cloister,  was  in  a  measure  still  dependent  upon  the 
monks  for  the  knowledge  of  the  preparation  of  the 
various  pigments  and  vehicles,  and  often  for  the'  supply  of 
them.  Subsequently  the  method  of  preparing  his  mate- 
rials became  a  part  of  the  artist's  education ;  and  during 
the  middle  ages  the  painters  had  their  Guild,  like  other 
handicraftsmen,  binding  its  members  to  keep  the  mystery 
of  the  profession,  and  regulating  the  conditions  on  which 
masters  might  instruct  apprentices,  who  became  their 
pupils  for  sometimes  thirteen  years,  six  of  which  were  to 
be  given  exclusively  to  the  manufacture  of  colours.  Thus 
the  members  of  these  guilds  communicated  this  know- 
ledge to  their  pupils ;  but  when  these  companies  were 
done  away  with,  and  it  was  no  longer  compulsory  to 
obtain  instruction  from  the  only  source  hitherto  available, 
it  became  necessary  to  provide  it  in  a  new  form,  and  in 
some  other  way,  that  those  who  possessed  taste  for  art 
might  be  enabled  to  exercise  it  aright.  Hence  it  will  be 
found  that  it  was  about  the  period  of  the  decline  of  these 
guilds  that  most  of  the  Art-academies  arose,  for  in  fact 
they  had  become  essential  to  its  successful  pursuit ;  and  it 
will  be  useful,  ere  we  enter  upon  the  account  of  the  rise 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  to  trace  the  efforts  made 
by  preceding  generations  in  this  country  to  meet  this  want, 
although,  unhappily,  they  met  with  so  little  success. 

To  Charles  I.  we  owe  the  establishment  of  the  first 
academy  connected  with  the  arts  in  England.  It  was 
founded  in  1636,  as  the  Museum  Minervce.  The  patent 
of  its  erection  is  still  extant  in  the  Bolls'  Office ;  and  the 
rules,  orders,  and  plans  of  the  institution  were  printed  in 
the  same  year.  The  course  of  instruction  embraced  the 
arts,  sciences,  and  foreign  languages,  mathematics,  paint- 


CH.  II.]     EVELYN'S  PLAN  FOR  AN  ACADEMY        19 

ing,  sculpture,  architecture,  riding,  fortification,  antiquities, 
and  the  science  of  medals,  &c.  None  could  be  admitted 
into  it  but  those  who  could  prove  themselves  to  be  of  the 
rank  of  gentlemen.  Sir  Francis  Kynaston  was  appointed 
the  first  regent,  and  a  coat  of  arms  was  granted  to  him 
and  the  professors  of  the  academy  in  1635.  It  was  held 
in  his  house  in  Covent  Garden,  but  only  continued  in 
operation  for  about  five  years,  till  the  civil  strife  began. 
Although  fruitless  as  a  means  of  public  art-education, 
it  would  have  been  of  value  if  it  had  lasted  long  enough 
to  educate  one  or  two  generations  in  the  middle  and 
upper  classes  of  society  in  the  principles  and  practice  of 
the  elegant  and  useful  arts  and  sciences,  and  would  thus 
have  imbued  them  with  a  correct  taste  in  exercising 
their  influence  in  the  promotion  of  the  fine  arts. l 

John  Evelyn,  whose  philosophic  and  elegant  mind  con- 
tributed so  much  to  adorn  the  period  in  which  he  lived, 
and  who  has  preserved  to  us  in  his  memoirs  so  true  a 
picture  of  the  age  of  the  Restoration,  published  in  1662 
a  work  on  engraving  called  "  Sculptura,"  in  which  he  un- 
folds a  scheme  he  had  formed  for  the  formation  of  an 
academy  for  the  encouragement  of  art.  It  is  very  in- 
teresting, in  connection  with  the  principles  upon  which 
the  Royal  Academy  was  to  be  founded  a  century  after- 
wards. His  plan  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  It  is  proposed  that  a  house  be  taken,  with  a  sufficient 
number  of  rooms :  two  contiguous  to  each  other  for  drawing  and 
modelling  from  life ;  one  for  architecture  and  perspective,  one 
for  drawing  from  plaster;  one  for  receiving  the  works  of  the 
school ;  one  for  the  exhibition  of  them ;  and  others  for  a  house- 
keeper and  servants. 


1  Walpole  mentions  that  Sir  Hal-  Academy   for    Foreign    Languages, 

thazar  Gerbier,  a  Flemish  miniature  and  all  Noble  Sciences   and  Exer- 

painter     and    architect,    who     was  cises ; "  but  nothing  is  known  of  its 

knighted  by  Charles  I.,  and  was  his  operations,  except  that  Gerbier  seems 

Master    of    the    Ceremonies,    esta-  to  have  given  lectures  there  in  seve- 

blished  an  academy  of  his  own  in  ral  languages  on  a  great  variety  of 

1048  upon  similar  principles  to  this,  subjects,  and   a   musical   entertain- 

at  Whitefriars,  which  ho  called  "  The  meiit  in  1C4U-GO. 

c  2 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  II. 

"  That  some  fine  pictures,  casts,  bustos,  bas-relievos,  in- 
taglios, antiquity,  history,  architecture,  drawings,  and  prints,  be 
purchased. 

"  That  there  be  professors  of  anatomy,  geometry,  perspective, 
architecture,  and  such  other  sciences  as  are  necessary  to  a  painter, 
sculptor,  or  architect. 

"  That  the  professors  do  read  lectures  at  stated  times  on  con- 
stituent parts  of  their  several  arts, the  resources  on  which  they  are 
founded,  and  the  precision  and  immutability  of  the  objects  of  true 
taste,  with  proper  cautions  against  all  caprice  and  affectation. 

"That  living  models  be  provided  of  different  characters  to 
stand  five  nights  in  the  week. 

"  That  every  professor  do  present  the  academy  with  a  piece 
of  his  performance  at  admission. 

"  That  no  scholar  draw  from  the  life  till  he  has  gone  through 
the  previous  classes,  and  given  proof  of  his  capacity. 

"  That  a  certain  number  of  medals  be  annually  given  to  such 
students  as  shall  distinguish  themselves  most. 

"  That  every  student,  after  he  has  practised  a  certain  time, 
and  given  some  proofs  of  his  ability,  may  be  a  candidate  for  a 
fellowship. 

"  That  such  of  the  Fellows  as  choose  to  travel  to  Eome  to 
complete  their  studies,  do  make  a  composition  from  some  given 
subject,  as  a  proof  of  their  ability.  He  who  shall  obtain  the 
preference  shall  be  sent  with  a  salary  sufficient  to  maintain  him 
decently  a  certain  time,  during  which  he  is  to  be  employed 
in  copying  pictures,  antique  statues,  or  bas-relievos,  drawing 
from  ancient  fragments  or  such  new  structures  as  may  advance 
his  art,  such  pieces  to  be  the  property  of  the  Society. 

"  That  other  medals  of  greater  value,  or  some  badges  of  dis- 
tinction, be  given  publicly  to  those  who  shall  manifest  un- 
common excellence. 

"  That  some  professors  should  be  well  skilled  in  ornaments, 
fruits,  flowers,  birds,  beasts,  &c.,  that  they  may  instruct  the 
students  in  these  subjects,  which  are  of  great  use  in  our  manu- 
factories. 

"  That  drawing-masters  for  such  schools  as  may  be  wanted 
in  several  parts  of  the  kingdom  be  appointed  by  the  professors, 
under  the  seal  of  the  Academy. 

"  That  a  housekeeper  shall  continually  reside  at  the  Academy, 
to  keep  everything  in  order,  and  not  suffer  any  piece  to  go  out 
of  the  house  without  a  proper  warrant." 


CH.  II.]  SIR  J.   THORNIIILL'S  ACADEMY  21 

This  plan,  unhappily,  remained  completely  in  abeyance ; 
and  the  next  approach  to  an  academy,  of  which  there  is 
now  any  trace,  was  a  private  one  (mentioned  by  Walpole), 
established  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  and  at  which  Vertue 
the  engraver  studied  in  1711.  After  a  long  career  of 
court  patronage  in  England,  Kneller  died  in  1723,  having 
painted  portraits  of  ten  sovereigns,  the  beauties  of 
Hampton  Court  for  William  III.,  and  the  thirty-nine 
members  of  the  Kit-cat  Club,  and  attained  the  rank  of 
baronet  and  a  large  fortune. 

Just  about  the  time  when  this  individual  effort  to  afford 
instruction  in  art  was  brought  to  a  close,  Sir  James 
Thornhill,  then  holding  the  appointment  of  historical 
painter  to  King  George  I.,  laid  before  the  government  a 
plan  for  the  foundation  of  a  Eoyal  Academy  for  culti- 
vating the  minds  and  diffusing  right  principles  amongst 
the  young  artists  of  England,  to  be  erected  "  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  Mews,"  with  suitable  apartments  for  the  pro- 
fessors. The  estimated  cost  at  the  commencement  was 
£3189  ;  and  although  the  plan  was  supported  by  Lord 
Treasurer  Halifax,  the  Treasury  refused  to  make  any 
grant  for  the  purpose. 

When  this  attempt  failed,  Thornhill  opened  an  academy 
for  drawing  at  his  own  house  in  James  Street,  Covent 
Garden,  on  the  east  side,  where  "  the  back  offices  and 
painting-room  abutted  upon  Langford's  (then  Cock's) 
auction-room  in  the  Piazza."1  This  school  was  the 
resort  of  all  the  artists  of  the  period;  and  when  it 
was  closed  at  his  death,  so  greatly  was  the  loss  of  the  ' 
study  of  living  models  felt,  that  in  two  or  three  years 
afterwards  a  few  artists  associated  together,  and  carried 
on  their  academic  studies  in  a  suitable  room  in  the  house 
of  Mr.  Hyde,  a  painter  in  Greyhound  Court,  Arundel 
Street,  Strand.  G.  M.  Moser,  an  eminent  gold  and 
silver  chaser,  and  afterwards  a  Royal  Academician, 
was  the  chief  conductor  of  this  institution.  Many  of  the 

1  "  European  Magazine,"  1804,  p.  820. 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  II. 

members  of  the  Thornhill  school  joined  the  artists  in 
their  new  studio  ;  and  in  1738  they  removed  to  a  more 
spacious  and  convenient  situation  in  Peter's  Court,  St. 
Martin's  Lane,  where  they  continued  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  supporting  the  life  academy  by  their  own  subscrip- 
tions. The  number  of  professional  English  artists  was 
evidently  rapidly  increasing ;  and  by  the  example  of 
Hogarth  (who  appealed  to  the  support  of  the  multitude 
through  the  medium  of  the  sale  of  engravings  from  his 
works,  rather  than  to  high  patrons  to  buy  his  paintings)  they 
were  encouraged  to  labour  with  a  similar  view.  No  tie 
of  brotherhood,  except  that  of  mutual  convenience,  seems 
to  have  bound  the  members  of  these  academies  together ; 
and  from  an  account  which  Hogarth  has  left  us  of  the  mode 
in  which  they  worked,  we  are  not  able  to  form  a  very 
high  opinion  of  their  management  or  constitution. 

In  an  article  written  by  him  about  the  year  1760  (pub- 
lished in  the  supplementary  volume  of  Ireland's  "  Hogarth 
Illustrated  "),  a  brief  account  is  given  of  the  academies  of 
art  which  existed  in  England  prior  to  that  date.  He 
says,  "  The  first  place  of  this  sort  was  begun  about  sixty 
years  ago  by  some  gentlemen  painters  of  the  first  rank, 
who  in  their  forms  imitated  the  Academy  in  France,  but 
conducted  their  business  with  less  fuss  and  solemnity :  yet 
the  little  there  was  of  it  soon  became  the  object  of 
ridicule.  Jealousies  arose ;  parties  were  formed ;  and  the 
president  and  his  adherents,  having  found  themselves 
comically  represented  marching  in  ridiculous  procession 
round  the  walls  of  their  room,  the  first  proprietors  put  a 
padlock  on  their  door ;  the  rest,  by  their  right  as  sub- 
scribers, did  the  same,  and  thus  ended  that  academy. 
Sir  James  Thornhill,  at  the  head  of  one  of  these  parties, 
then  (in  1724)  set  up  an  academy  in  a  room  he  built  at 
the  back  of  his  own  house,  now  next  the  play-house 
(Covent  Garden),  and  gave  tickets  to  all  who  required 
admission  ;  but  so  few  persons  would  incur  the  obligation 
that  this  academy  soon  sunk  also.  Mr.  Vanderbank 


CH.  II.] 


ST.  MARTIN'S  LANE  ACADEMY 


23 


headed  the  rebellious  party,  converted  an  old  meeting- 
house into  an  academy,  and  introduced  a  female  figure,  to 
make  it  more  inviting  to  subscribers.  This  establishment 
lasted  a  few  years,  when  the  treasurer,  having  sunk  the 
subscription  money,  the  lamp,  stove,  &c.  were  seized  for 
rent,  and  there  was  an  end  of  that  concern.  Sir  James 


The  Old  Academy  In  Peter'g  Court,  St.  Martin's  Laiio 


dying,  I  became  possessed  (in  1734)  of  his  neglected  ap- 
paratus ;  and  thinking  that  an  academy,  if  conducted  on 
moderate  principles,  would  be  useful,  I  proposed  that  a 
number  of  artists  should  enter  into  a  subscription  for  the 
hire  of  a  place  large  enough  to  admit  of  thirty  or  forty 
persons  drawing  after  a  naked  figure.  This  proposition 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  II. 

having  been  agreed  to,  a  room  was  taken  in  St.  Martin's 
Lane  (Peter's  Court).  I  sent  to  the  society  the  furniture 
that  had  belonged  to  Sir  James's  academy ;  and,  attri- 
buting the  failure  of  the  previous  academies  to  the  lead- 
ing members  having  assumed  a  superiority  which  their 
fellow-students  could  not  brook,  I  proposed  that  every 
member  should  contribute  an  equal  sum  towards  the  sup- 
port of  the  establishment,  and  have  an  equal  right  to  vote 
on  every  question  relative  to  its  affairs.  By  these  regu- 
lations the  academy  has  now  existed  nearly  thirty  years, 
and  is  for  every  useful  purpose  equal  to  that  in  France 
or  any  other."  How  far  this  opinion  of  the  eminent 
painter  was  confirmed  by  the  final  result  we  shall  pre- 
sently have  occasion  to  show. 

In  the  order  of  time,  the  next  step  towards  the  provi- 
sion of  a  home  for  art  in  England,  was  the  laudable  one 
taken  by  the  Society  of  Dilettanti,  founded  in  1734  by 
some  noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  had  travelled  in  Italy, 
for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  a  taste  for  those  objects 
which  had  contributed  so  much  to  their  entertainment 
abroad,  and  also  for  friendly  and  social  intercourse.  "  In 
1749  a  plan  was  submitted  to  the  society  by  Mr.  Dingley, 
for  the  formation  of  an  academy  of  arts  ;  and  the  society 
voted  an  annual  sum  out  of  their  general  fund  for  the 
encouragement  of  art  in  the  three  different  branches  of 
painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  as  soon  as  this  or 
any  other  scheme  for  a  similar  purpose  should  be  carried 
into  effect." 1  It  would  appear  that  the  directors  of  the 
Dilettanti  Society  were  in  earnest  in  the  matter,  for  they 
appointed  a  committee  to  purchase  a  plot  of  ground 
whereon  to  erect  a  building  as  a  repository  for  works  of 
art,  particularly  castes  from  the  antique.  They  purchased 
a  site  on  the  south  side  of  Cavendish  Square,  and  supplies 
of  Portland  stone,  and  in  1753  resolved  that  the  pro- 
posed building  should  be  erected  according  to  the  exact 


Taylor's  "History  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  Great  Britain/'  vol.  ii.  p.  163. 


CH.  II.]          PLAN  OF  THE  DILETTANTI  SOCIETY  26 

measurements  of  the  Temple  at  Pola,  appointing  Sir  John 
Dash  wood,  Mr.  Howe,  Mr.  Dingley,  and  Colonel  Gray,  as  a 
committee  to  carry  it  out.  But  subsequent  proceedings 
were  suspended,  in  consequence  of  the  course  taken  by  the 
Society  of  Artists,  and  unhappily  this  generous  plan  was 
never  realised.  If  we  may  credit  the  not  always  impartial 
account  given  by  Sir  Eobert  Strange  in  his  "  Inquiry 
into,  the  Eise  and  Establishment  of  the  Eoyal  Academy," 
its  failure  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  conduct  of  the  artists 
for  whose  benefit  it  was  proposed.  He  says,  the  artists 
"  supported  by  annual  subscription  an  academy  in  St. 
Martin's  Lane,  which  was  governed  by  a  committee.  Many 
attempts  were  made  about  that  time  to  enlarge  the  plan 
of  this  academy,  but  they  as  frequently  proved  abortive  : 
they  failed  through  the  intrigues  of  several  amongst  the 
artists  themselves,  who,  satisfied  with  their  own  perform- 
ances and  the  moderate  degree  of  abilities  they  possessed, 
wished,  I  believe,  for  nothing  more  than  to  remain  as  they 
then  were,  masters  of  the  field.  A  society  composed  of  a 
number  of  the  most  respectable  persons  of  this  country, 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Dilettanti,  made 
the  first  step  towards  an  establishment  of  this  nature. 
That  society,  having  accumulated  a  considerable  fund, 
and  being  really  promoters  of  the  fine  arts,  generously 
offered  to  appropriate  it  to  support  a  public  academy. 
General  Gray,  agentleman  distinguished  by  his  public  spirit 
and  fine  taste,  was  deputed  by  that  society  to  treat  with 
the  artists.  I  was  present  at  their  meetings.  On  the  part 
of  our  intended  benefactors,  I  observed  that  generosity 
and  benevolence  which  are  peculiar  to  true  greatness ; 
but  on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  the  leading  artists,  I  was 
sorry  to  remark  motives  apparently  limited  to  their  own 
views  and  ambition  to  govern,  diametrically  opposite  to 
the  liberality  with  which  we  were  treated.  After  various 
conferences,  the  Dilettanti,  finding  that  they  were  to  be 
allowed  no  share  in  the  government  of  the  Academy,  or 
in  appropriating  their  own  fund,  the  negotiation  ended." 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  II. 

There  may  be  some  colouring  in  this  description,  tinted 
by  the  animosity  which  the  eminent  engraver  was  known 
to  feel  towards  the  managers  of  the  St.  Martin's  Lane 
academy;  but  it  certainly  seems  as  if  they  desired  to 
form  a  school  of  art  which  should  be  completely  inde- 
pendent of  any  interference  from  without.  A  circular 
was  issued,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy,  by  which  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  professors  in  the  new  "  public  academy  "  were 
proposed  to  be  made  by  the  artists  themselves : — 

"  Academy  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  &c.,  St.  Martin's  Lane, 
"  October  23,  1753. 

"  There  is  a  scheme  on  foot  for  creating  a  public  academy 
for  the  improvement  of  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture ; 
and  it  is  thought  necessary  to  have  a  certain  number  of  pro- 
fessors, with  proper  authority,  in  order  to  making  regulations, 
taking  subscriptions,  &c.,  erecting  a  building,  instructing  the 
students,  and  concerting  all  such  measures  as  shall  be  after- 
wards thought  necessary. 

"  Your  company  is  desired  at  the  Turk's  Head l,  in  Gerard 
Street,  Soho,  on  the  13th  of  November,  at  five  in  the  evening, 
to  proceed  to  the  election  of  thirteen  painters,  three  sculptors, 
one  chaser,  two  engravers,  and  two  architects,  in  all  twenty- 
one,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid. 

"(Signed)  FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON, 

"  Secretary. 

"  P.S.  Please  to  bring  the  inclosed  list,  marked  with  a  cross 
before  the  names  of  thirteen  painters,  three  sculptors,  one 
chaser,  two  engravers,  and  two  architects,  as  shall  appear  to 
you  the  most  able  artists  in  their  several  professions,  and  in  all 
other  respects  the  most  proper  for  conducting  the  design.  If 
you  cannot  attend,  it  is  expected  that  you  will  send  your  list 
sealed,  and  inclosed  in  a  cover  directed  to  me  at  the  Turk's 


1  The  frequent  resort  of  Dr.  John-  in  every  week  at  seven  for  supper, 

son,  Reynolds,  Goldsmith,  and  other  Gibbon  also  was  a  member  of  the 

celebrities   of  the  time.     There,  in  Society  of  the  Turk's  Head,  to  which 

1764,  was  founded  the  Literary  Club,  also  Adam  Smith,  Burke,  and  Fox 

the  members  meeting  one  evening  belonged. 


CH.  II.]    HOGARTH'S  OBJECTIONS  TO  ART-ACADEMIES        27 

Head,  Gerard  Street,  Soho ;  and  that  you  will  write  your  name 
on  the  cover,  without  which  no  regard  will  be  paid  to  it.  The 
list,  in  that  case,  will  be  immediately  taken  out  of  the  cover 
and  mixed  with  the  other  lists,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  known 
from  whom  it  came, —  all  imaginable  methods  being  concerted 
for  carrying  on  this  election  without  any  favour  or  partiality. 
If  you  know  of  any  artist  of  sufficient  merit  to  be  elected  as  a 
professor,  and  who  has  been  overlooked  in  drawing  out  the  in- 
closed list,  be  pleased  to  write  his  name  according  to  his  place 
in  the  alphabet,  with  a  cross  before  it." 

There  is  nothing  to  show  whether  the  artists  to  whom 
this  invitation  was  sent  gave  any  response  to  it ;  but  the 
project  completely  failed,  and  it  would  appear  that  great 
diversity  of  opinion  existed  among  the  members  of  the 
academy  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  attempt,  for  ridicule 
and  caricatures  were  freely  exchanged  by  the  opposite 
parties  in  the  struggle.  It  is  known  that  Hogarth  was 
inimical  to  the  project,  and  the  following  are  the  reasons 
he  has  assigned  for  his  objections ' :  — 

"  Portrait-painting  ever  has,  and  ever  will,  succeed  better  in 
this  country  than  in  any  other.  The  demand  will  be  as  con- 
stant as  new  faces  arise ;  and  with  this  we  must  be  contented, 
for  it  will  be  vain  to  attempt  to  force  what  can  never  be  accom- 
plished, at  least  by  such  institutions  as  royal  academies,  on 
the  system  now  in  agitation.  If  hereafter  the  times  alter,  the 
arts,  like  water,  will  find  their  level.  Among  other  causes  that 
militate  against  either  painting  or  sculpture  succeeding  in  this 
nation,  we  must  place  our  religion,  which,  inculcating  unadorned 
simplicity,  doth  not  require, —  nay,  absolutely  forbids, — images 
for  worship,  or  pictures  to  excite  enthusiasm.  Paintings  are  con- 
sidered as  pieces  of  furniture;  and  Europe  is  already  over- 
stocked with  the  works  of  other  ages.  These,  with  copies 
countless  as  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore,  are  bartered  to  and  fro, 
and  are  quite  sufficient  for  the  demands  of  the  curious,  who 
naturally  prefer  scarce,  expensive,  and  far-fetched  productions, 
to  those  which  they  might  have  on  low  terms  at  home.  Who 
can  be  expected  to  give  forty  guineas  for  a  modern  landscape, 


Ireland's  "  Hogarth  Illustrated,"  supplementary  volume,  pp.  70-70. 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  II. 

though  in  ever  so  superior  a  style,  when  he  can  purchase  one 
which,  for  little  more  than  double  the  sum,  shall  be  sanctioned 
by  a  sounding  name,  and  warranted  original  by  a  solemn-faced 
connoisseur  ?  This  considered,  can  it  excite  wonder  that  the 
arts  have  not  taken  such  deep  root  in  this  soil  as  in  places  where 
the  people  cultivate  them  from  a  kind  of  religious  necessity, 
and  where  proficients  have  so  much  more  profit  in  the  pursuit  ? 
Whether  it  is  to  our  honour  or  disgrace,  I  will  not  presume  to 
say;  but  the  fact  is  indisputable,  that  the  public  encourage 
trade  and  mechanics  rather  than  painting  and  sculpture."  l 

Much  of  truth  is  contained  in  these  reasons ;  and  in  the 
then  state  of  party-feeling  on  the  subject  it  did  not  seem 
probable  that  any  plan  could  unite  the  artists  into  one 
harmonious  brotherhood.  Yet  many  advocates  continued 
to  urge  the  importance  of  the  project,  and  in  1755  an 
"  Essay  on  the  Necessity  of  a  Eoyal  Academy  "  was  pub- 
lished by  Nesbitt,  in  which  he  declared  it  to  be  "  as 
truly  noble  a  charity  as  can  be  founded; "  and  in  the 
same  year  the  project  was  yet  further  developed  by  the 
issue  of  a  pamphlet  of  sixteen  quarto  pages,  entitled 
"  The  Plan  of  an  Academy  for  the  better  Cultivation, 
Improvement,  and  Encouragement  of  Painting,  Sculpture, 
Architecture,  and  the  Arts  of  Design  in  General ;  the 
Abstract  of  a  Eoyal  Charter,  as  proposed  for  establishing 
the  same ;  and  a  short  Introduction."  The  latter  con- 
tains the  following  remarks: — "The  prodigious  sums 
England  has  laid  out  at  foreign  markets  for  paintings  is 
but  a  trifle  compared  to  the  more  prodigious  sums  ex- 
pended by  English  travellers  for  the  bare  sight  of  such 
things  as  they  despaired  of  ever  seeing  at  home.  But  the 
loss  in  point  of  money  is  not  so  much  as  in  point  of  cha- 
racter ;  for  we  voluntarily  yield  the  palm  to  every  petty 
state  that  has  produced  a  painter ;  and  by  the  language 


1  It  must  be  recollected  that  Ho-  stitution,    as    has    sometimes    been 

garth,  died  in  1764,  before  the  Royal  supposed,  but  to  the  various  plans 

Academy  now  in  existence  was  esta-  which  were  set  on  foot  in  his  own 

Wished ;  and  that,  therefore,  his  ob-  times, 
jections  had  no  reference  to  that  in- 


CH.  II.]       PLAN  FOR  A  ROYAL  ACADEMY  IN  1755  29 

generally  used  on  this  subject,  one  would  think  England 
the  only  country  in  the  world  incapable  of  producing  one, — 
as  if  the  genius  of  a  painter  were  one  kind  of  essence,  and 
the  genius  of  a  poet  another  —  as  if  the  air  and  soil  that 
gave  birth  to  a  Shakespeare  and  a  Bacon,  a  Milton  and  a 
Newton,  could  be  deficient  in  any  species  of  excellence 
whatsoever.  Whereas  the  whole  secret  lies  in  this : 
when  princes,  for  their  grandeur,  or  priests,  for  their 
profit,  have  had  recourse  to  painting,  the  encouragement 
given  to  the  professors  gave  spirit  to  the  art,  and  then 
every  one  thought  it  worth  while  so  to  distinguish  himself 

by  encouraging  it,  in  hope  of  sharing  the  reward 

To  bring  about  this  desirable  end,  it  has  been  thought 
expedient  to  solicit  the  establishment  of  a  Eoyal  Academy, 
under  the  direction  of  a  select  number  of  artists,  chosen 

by  ballot  out  of  the  whole  body A  plan  has  been 

digested  for  directing  the  whole ;  and  all  that  is  further 
wanting  to  carry  it  into  execution  is  the  benevolence  of 
the  public."  The  plan  proposed  that  the  establishment 
should  consist  of  a  president,  thirty  directors,  fellows,  and 
scholars,  to  be  called  the  "  Eoyal  Academy  of  London,  for 
the  Improvement  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architec- 
ture ;"  and  the  Committee  for  carrying  it  into  effect  was 
composed  as  follows  :  — 

FRANCIS  HAYMAN,  Chairman.  ISAAC  WARE 

GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER  RICHARD  DALTON 

Louis  F.  ROUBILIAC  JAMES  PAYNE 

THOMAS  HUDSON  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS 

GEORGE  LAMBERT  SAMUEL  WALE 

SAMUEL  SCOTT  GAVIN  HAMILTON 

ROBERT  STRANGE  JOHN  GWYN 

JOHN  SHACKLETON  THOMAS  SANDBY 

WILLIAM  HOARE  RICHARD  YEO 

CHARLES  GRIGNION  THOMAS  CARTER 

JOHN  ELLYS  JOHN  ASTLEY 

HENRY  CHEERE  JOHN  PINE 

F.  M.  NEWTON,  Secretary. 
Before  attempting  to  gain  public  support  to  this  scheme, 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  II. 

the  Committee  submitted  their  proposal  to  the  Dilettanti 
Society,  who  entered  into  it  at  first  so  readily  that  some 
of  its  members  desired  to  enlarge  the  plan  so  as  to  admit 
persons  not  of  the  profession,  and  also  suggested  that  "  the 
President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  should  be  always  annu- 
ally chosen  from  the  Society  of  Dilettanti."  One  of  the 
last  proceedings  in  the  matter  is  contained  in  the  following 
statement,  dated  30th  December,  1755,  addressed  "  To  the 
Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Dilettanti  Society : " 
"  We,  the  Committee  of  Painters,  Sculptors,  and  Archi- 
tects, beg  leave  to  remind  the  Hon.  Dilettanti  Society  of 
two  resolutions  of  theirs, — the  one  signed  by  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  encouraging  us  to  proceed  with  our 
design  of  preparing  a  charter  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Eoyal  Academy, — and  the  other  by  the  Earl  of  Sandwich, 
chairman  of  the  Committee,  for  considering  our  proposals 
in  relation  thereto,  assuring  us  that  their  determination 
thereon  should  be  communicated  to  us,  as  also  to  intimate, 
in  the  most  respectful  manner,  that  the  sooner  we  can  be 
favoured  with  their  determination,  the  more  a  favour  we 
shall  esteem  it  :  it  appearing  to  us  to  be  highly  unbe- 
coming to  proceed  in  an  affair  once  laid  before  them  till 
we  be  made  acquainted  with  their  sentiments  upon  it." 
The  decision  thus  sought  for  was  adverse  to  the  hopes  and 
prospects  of  the  artists ;  for  the  Dilettanti  Society  declined 
the  compliment  proposed  to  them,  from  an  impression 
that  they  would  have  no  real  control  over  the  academy 
thus  proposed  to  be  founded  by  the  aid  of  their  influence 
and  assistance.  Thus  the  proposal  failed,  like  its  prede- 
cessors, from  the  want  of  support  on  the  part  of  the  public, 
who  were  not  sufficiently  alive  to  the  importance  of  art 
to  induce  them  to  give  their  money  for  the  foundation  of 
an  art  academy ;  and,  although  it  was  proposed  that  it 
/  should  bear  the  title  of  "  Eoyal,"  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  Sovereign  himself  was  aware  of  the  plan,  and  cer- 
tainly did  nothing  to  give  it  the  advantage  of  his  pa- 
tronage. 


CH.  II.]         THE  DUKE  OF  RICHMOND'S  GALLERY  31 

To  the  Duke  of  Eichmond  the  artists  were  indebted  for  5< 
the  formation  of  a  gratuitous  school  of  design,  in  allowing  " 
them  access  to  his  gallery  in  Whitehall,  and  offering  pre- 
miums  for  the  best  designs.  This  gallery,  furnished  with  1 
casts  of  the  most  celebrated  ancient  and  modern  figures 
in  Eome  and  Florence,  was,  by  public  advertisement, 
announced  to  be  opened  on  the  6th  of  March,  1758,  "for  , 
the  use  of  those  who  study  painting,  sculpture,  and  en- 
graving," a  limitation  being  made  restricting  the  admis- 
sion to  youths  above  twelve  years  of  age.  The  school 
was  under  the  management  of  Cipriani  for  drawing,  and 
Wilton  for  modelling.  The  advertisement  stated  that 
"  There  will  be  given,  at  Christmas  and  Midsummer  annu- 
ally, to  those  who  distinguish  themselves  by  making  the 
greatest  progress,  the  following  premiums  :  —  A  figure 
will  be  selected  from  the  rest,  and  a  large  silver  medal 
will  be  given  for  the  best  design  of  it,  and  another  for 
the  best  basso  relievo.  A  smaller  silver  medal  for  the 
second  best  design,  and  one  for  the  second  best  basso 
relievo"  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  the  promised 
premiums  were  not  awarded ;  for  the  Duke  had  been 
called  away  suddenly  to  join  his  regiment  on  the  conti- 
nent, it  being  the  time  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Some 
impatient  aspirant  had,  with  excessive  bad  taste  and  im- 
pudence, pasted  a  placard  on  the  door  of  the  mansion, 
which  his  Grace  saw  on  his  return,  in  which  he  was  made 
to  apologise  for  his  poverty,  and  to  express  his  regret  at 
having  promised  premiums  which  he  could  not  give.  As 
a  school  for  youthful  artists,  it  was  closed  in  consequence; 
but  individual  students  long  after  enjoyed  the  advantage 
which  the  study  of  these  antiques  afforded  in  improving 
their  taste,  and  in  giving  them  a  true  idea  of  beauty  and 
proportion. 

A  short  time  previously,  in  1754,  the  "  Society  for  the 
Encouragement  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce  in 
Great  Britain  "  was  founded  by  the  persevering  exertions 
of  Mr.  Shipley  (brother  of  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph),  and 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  II. 

its  first  president,  Lord  Folkestone.  One  of  its  objects 
was  "  to  bestow  premiums  on  a  certain  number  of  boys 
or  girls  under  the  age  of  sixteen,  who  shall  produce  the 
best  pieces  of  drawing,  and  show  themselves  most  capable 
when  properly  examined."  Young  Cos  way,  at  the  age  of 
fifteen,  gained  the  first  prize.  Subsequently  this  premium 
was  extended  to  persons  of  mature  age  for  the  best  works 
in  historical  painting,  sculpture,  and  design  in  architec- 
ture ;  and  thus  the  society  was  the  first  in  England  to 
bestow  pecuniary  and  honorary  rewards  on  the  efforts  of 
youthful  artists.  This  was  of  great  importance  at  that 
period,  even  though  the  society  did  not  support  a  draw- 
ing school  or  afford  instruction  in  art ;  for  it  thus  improved 
the  public  taste  by  holding  up  a  standard  of  excellence  to 
the  artist. 

In  another  and  indirect  way  the  Society  of  Arts  was 
instrumental  in  opening  the  first  exhibition  of  the  works 
of  British  artists  to  the  public.  The  idea  of  such  an  exhi- 
bition was  suggested  by  one  held  at  the  Foundling  Hos- 
pital for  the  benefit  of  the  charity.  In  1740,  Hogarth 
had  painted  a  whole-length  portrait  of  the  founder, 
Captain  Coram,  and  presented  it  to  the  Hospital.  When 
the  first  wing  of  the  present  building  was  finished,  in 
1745,  Hogarth  and  eighteen  other  artists  agreed  to  adorn 
its  walls  with  works  of  art,  and  met  annually  on  the  5th 
of  November,  to  drink  claret  and  punch  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  landing  of  King  William  HI.,  and  to  form  a 
committee  "  to  consider  of  what  further  ornaments  may 
be  added  to  this  Hospital  without  any  expense  to  the 
charity.-"1  The  result  was  that  the  donations  of  paintings, 
&c.  (the  fruits  of  these  meetings  and  the  generosity  of  the 
artists),  when  exhibited  to  the  public,  drew  a  daily  crowd 
of  spectators  in  their  splendid  equipages ;  and  a  visit  to  the 


1  See  the  "  History  and  Design  of      Brownlow,   Secretary  to   the   Hos- 
the  Foundling  Hospital,  with  a  Me-      pital.     London,  W.  &  H.  S.  Warr. 
moir  of   the  Founder."     By   John 


Cn.  II.]  THE  FIRST  AET  EXHIBITION  33 

Foundling  became  the  most  fashionable  morning  lounge 
in  the  reign  of  George  II. 

The  eclat  thus  excited  suggested  to  the  British  artists 
generally  the  idea  of  making  a  public  exhibition  of  their 
works ;  and,  at  a  meeting  held  by  them  on  the  12th  of 
November,  1759,  it  was  resolved  that  "once  in  every 
year,  on  a  day  in  the  second  week  of  April,  at  a  place 
that  shall  be  appointed  by  a  committee  for  carrying  the 
design  into  execution,  to  be  chosen  annually,  every 
painter,  sculptor,  architect,  engraver,  chaser,  seal-cutter, 
and  medalist  may  exhibit  their  several  performances. 
That  the  intention  of  this  meeting  is  to  endeavour  to 
procure  a  sum  of  money  to  be  distributed  in  charity  to- 
wards the  support  of  those  artists  whose  age  and  infir- 
mities, or  other  lawful  hindrances,  prevent  them  from 
being  any  longer  candidates  for  fame.  And  it  is  resolved 
that  the  sum  of  one  shilling  be  taken  daily  of  each  person 
who  may  come  to  visit  the  said  performances."  This  pro- 
posal was  made  known  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  who  were 
solicited  to  allow  the  artists  the  use  of  their  rooms  (at  that 
time  in  the  Strand,  opposite  Beaufort's  Buildings)  for  the 
purpose.  The  Society  agreed  to  the  proposal,  only  stipu- 
lating that  no  charge  for  admission  should  be  made.  This 
objection  was  met  by  a  charge  being  made  of  sixpence 
for  each  catalogue ;  and  on  the  21st  of  April,  1760  (the 
year  in  which  King  George  HE.  ascended  the  throne),  the 
first  art-exhibition  in  England  was  accordingly  opened. 
The  number  of  works  displayed  was  130,  by  sixty-nine 
artists.1  No  less  than  6582  catalogues  were  sold,  and  the 
artists  bought  £100  Three  per  Cent.  Consols  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  the  first  exhibition.  It  was  open  from  the 
21st  of  April  to  the  8th  of  May,  and  the  room  was  conti- 
nually crowded  to  inconvenience, — so  novel  a  sight  was 
such  a  display  to  the  London  public  a  century  ago. 


1  A  list  of  these,  and  many  in-  in  Mr.  John  Pye's  "  Patronage  of 
teresting  particulars  on  this  period  British  Art :  an  historical  sketch." 
of  English  art-history,  will  be  found  London,  1845. 

VOL.  I.  D 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  II. 

With  this  first  gleam  of  sunshine  for  English  artists, 
and  with  the  prospect  of  their  position  being  improved  by 
attracting  public  approval  and  extended  patronage,  came 
also  strife  and  contention  among  themselves,  to  be  conti- 
nued, as  we  shall  see,  with  increased  virulence  for  years, 
until  the  course  was  taken  which,  once  for  all,  elevated  the 
arts  to  a  higher  position  than  they  had  ever  previously 
attained  in  this  country. 

In  1761,  the  artists  who  had  held  the  exhibition  at  the 
room  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  again  applied  for  its  use,  but 
stipulated  that  their  pictures  might  not  be  displayed  at 
the  same  time  with  the  works  of  the  candidates  for  the 
premiums  offered  by  the  Society,  as  confusion  had  arisen 
in  consequence  in  the  preceding  exhibition;  and  that, 
"  as  great  inconvenience  had  resulted  from  inferior 
people  crowding  the  exhibition-room,  the  price  of  the 
catalogue  should  be  one  shilling,  that  no  person  be 
admitted  without  one,  and  that  it  serve  as  a  ticket  of 
admission  during  the  season."  In  reply  to  these  proposals, 
the  Society  of  Arts  contended  that  the  exhibition  should 
be  freely  opened  to  the  public,  under  proper  restrictions 
and  management ;  and  some  of  the  artists,  rather  than 
yield,  engaged  the  room  of  an  auctioneer  in  Spring 
Gardens  during  the  month  of  May,  and  designated  it 
as  the  "Exhibition-room  of  the  Society  of  Artists  of 
Great  Britain."  The  catalogue  contained  a  frontispiece 
by  Hogarth,  representing  a  fountain  (surmounted  by  a  bust 
of  George  III.),  and  Britannia  nourishing,  by  the  waters 
flowing  from  the  fountain  into  a  watering-pot,  the  three 
young  trees,  named  "  Painting,"  "  Sculpture,"  and  "Archi- 
tecture ;"  and  a  tail-piece,  portraying  a  connoisseur — a  fop- 
pishly-dressed monkey,  looking  through  an  eye-glass  at 
three  old  stumps  of  trees,  which  he  is  watering,  designated 
"  exoticks,"  and  labelled,  obit.  1502,  1600,  1604,  respec- 
tively,— a  bitter  satire  on  the  rage  for  "old  masters."  A 
third  vignette,  designed  by  Wale,  and  engraved  by 
Grignion,  represented  the  genius  of  the  arts  distributing 


CH.  IL]  DISSENSIONS  AMONG  THE  AETISTS  35 

money  from  a  coffer,  inscribed  "For  the  relief  of  the 
distressed."1  So  attractive  was  this  catalogue,  that  13,000 
copies  were  sold,  and  thus  £650  were  the  receipts  of  the 
exhibition.  Contemporary  writers  described  many  of  the 
pictures  in  this  exhibition  as  equal  to  those  of  any  living 
artists  then  in  Europe ;  and  Eoubilliac,  the  sculptor,  wrote 
some  French  verses  in  praise  of  the  collection,  which 
were  hung  up  in  the  room. 

The  seceders  from  this  body  of  artists  held  a  separate 
exhibition  of  their  works  at  the  room  of  the  Society  of 
Arts.  There  were  sixty-five  exhibitors ;  and  it  was  an- 
nounced that  the  public  would  be  admitted  gratis, — that 
catalogues,  if  required,  would  be  charged  at  sixpence,  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  which  would  be  given  to  some 
public  charity.  Accordingly  we  find  £50  each  given  to 
the  Middlesex  Hospital,  the  British  Lying-in  Hospital,  and 
the  Asylum  for  Female  Orphans,  and  the  balance  to  poor 
artists.  In  furtherance  of  this  plan  of  providing,  by 
prudent  foresight  and  economy,  funds  for  the  support  of 
the  distressed  and  decayed  of  their  own  number,  the 
artists  in  the  following  year  formed  themselves  into  an 
institution,  to  be  called,  "A  Free  Society  of  Artists, 
associated  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  and  decayed 
brethren,  their  widows  and  children."  In  1763  the 
society  was  enrolled  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and 
fifty  members  signed  the  deed.  The  Society  of  Arts  con- 
tinued to  lend  their  room  for  the  annual  exhibition  till 
1764  ;  but  in  the  following  year  the  Free  Society  was  re- 
moved to  an  unfavourable  locality, — the  great  room  of 
Mr.  Moreing,  upholsterer,  Maiden  Lane,  Covent  Garden. 
In  1767  an  agreement  was  entered  into  with  Mr.  Christie, 
the  celebrated  auctioneer,  to  hire  the  rooms  he  was  then 
building  at  the  bottom  of  the  Haymarket,  where  the 
exhibition  was  held  also  in  1768.  At  that  date  the 


1  Reduced  copies  of  those  clover      engraved  in  Pye,  "  On  the  Patronage 
and  interesting  designs  will  be  found      of  British  Art,"  pp.  DO — 101. 


v  2 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  II. 

society  possessed  £1200  invested  in  the  funds,  and 
numbered  100  members  sharing  its  benefits ;  but  after 
that  time  (the  year  of  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy)  no  additions  were  made  to  it.  For  the  next 
six  years  (1769-1774)  the  annual  exhibition  was  held  in 
a  new  great  room,  next  to  Cumberland  House,  Pall  Mall, 
built  expressly  for  the  society  by  Mr.  Christie,  and  pro- 
duced, on  an  average,  £100  a  year.  For  four  years  more 
the  exhibition  was  continued  in  St.  Alban's  Street,  when 
it  would  appear  that  the  society  ceased  to  exist,  except  to 
dispense  its  provident  fund  among  surviving  members. 

Ketracing  our  steps  to  follow  the  career  of  the  Society 
of  Artists  (from  which  this  Free  Society  was  a  seceding 
institution),  we  find  them,  in  the  third  year  of  their 
existence  (1762),  carrying  out  their  original  resolution  of 
charging  a  shilling  for  admission  to  their  exhibition,  and 
giving  the  catalogue  gratis.  To  justify  this  course  they 
obtained  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who  was  not, 
however,  himself  greatly  interested  in  exhibitions  of 
pictures,  if  we  may  judge  of  his  regard  for  them  by  what 
he  wrote  to  Baretti :  — "The  artists  have  instituted  a  yearly 
exhibition  of  pictures  and  statues,  in  imitation,  I  am  told, 
of  foreign  academies.  This  year  (1761)  was  the  second 
exhibition.  They  please  themselves  much  with  the  multi- 
tude of  spectators,  and  imagine  that  the  English  school 
will  rise  much  in  reputation.  .  .  .  The  exhibition  has 
filled  the  heads  of  the  artists  and  lovers  of  art.  Surely 
life,  if  it  be  not  long,  is  tedious,  since  we  are  forced  to 
call  in  the  aid  of  so  many  trifles  to  rid  us  of  our  time — 
of  that  time  which  can  never  return."  Defective  sight 
probably  prevented  the  great  moralist  from  appreciating 
pictures,  which  he  declared  could  illustrate,  but  not 
inform  ;  yet,  while  he  did  not  always  speak  very  respect- 
fully of  artists,  he  nevertheless  wrote  the  "Apology"  for 
their  new  course  when,  in  1762,  they  for  the  first  time 
charged  a  shilling  for  each  person's  admission  to  their 
exhibition  in  Spring  Gardens,  and,  by  way  of  compensa- 


CH.  II]  DR.  JOHNSON'S  PREFACE  37 

tion  for  this  innovation,  presented  the  catalogue  gratis  to 
each  visitor.  It  was  prefixed  to  the  catalogue  in  the 
form  of  an  address,  which,  as  it  faithfully  and  elegantly 
describes  the  position  of  the  artists  at  the  period,  and 
their  determination  to  seek  fame  upon  the  merits  of  their 
works  alone,  and  not  by  the  patronage  of  the  few,  is  well 
deserving  of  being  reproduced  entire  in  this  place.  It 
ran  as  follows :  — 

"  The  public  may  justly  require  to  be  informed  of  the  nature 
and  extent  of  every  design  for  which  the  favour  of  the  public  is 
openly  solicited.  The  artists,  who  were  themselves  the  first 
promoters  of  an  exhibition  in  this  nation,  and  who  have  now 
contributed  to  the  following  catalogue,  think  it  therefore  neces- 
sary to  explain  their  purpose,  and  justify  their  conduct.  An 
exhibition  of  the  works  of  art,  being  a  new  spectacle  in  this 
kingdom,  has  raised  various  opinions  and  conjectures  among 
those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  practice  in  foreign  nations. 
Those  who  set  their  performances  to  general  view  have  been  too 
often  considered  as  the  rivals  to  each  other, —  as  men  actuated, 
if  not  by  avarice,  at  least  by  vanity,  and  contending  for 
superiority  of  fame,  though  not  for  a  pecuniary  prize.  It  cannot 
be  denied  or  doubted  that  all  who  offer  themselves  to  criticism 
are  desirous  of  praise.  This  desire  is  not  only  innocent,  but 
virtuous,  while  it  is  undebased  by  artifice  and  unpolluted  by 
envy ;  and  of  envy  or  artifice  those  men  can  never  be  accused 
who,  already  enjoying  all  the  honours  and  profits  of  their  profes- 
sion, are  content  to  stand  candidates  for  public  notice,  with  genius 
yet  unexperienced,  and  genius  yet  unrewarded ;  without  any 
hope  of  increasing  their  own  reputation  or  interest,  expose  their 
names  and  their  works,  only  that  they  may  furnish  an  opportunity 
of  appearance  to  the  young,  the  diffident,  and  the  neglected. 
The  purpose  of  the  exhibition  is  not  to  enrich  the  artist,  but  to 
advance  the  art.  The  eminent  are  not  flattered  by  preference, 
nor  the  obscure  treated  with  contempt.  Whoever  hopes  to 
deserve  public  favour  is  here  invited  to  display  his  merit. 

"  Of  the  price  set  upon  this  exhibition  some  account  may  be 
demanded.  Whoever  sets  his  works  to  be  shown  naturally 
desires  a  multitude  of  spectators ;  but  his  desire  defeats  his  own 
end  when  spectators  assemble  in  such  numbers  as  to  obstruct 
one  another.  Though  we  are  far  from  wishing  to  diminish  the 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  II. 

pleasures  or  depreciate  the  sentiments  of  any  part  of  the  com- 
munity,— we  know,  however,  what  every  one  knows,  that  all 
cannot  be  judges  or  purchasers  of  works  of  art, —  yet  we  have 
found  by  experience  that  all  are  fond  of  seeing  an  exhibition. 
When  the  price  was  low  our  room  was  thronged  with  such 
multitudes  as  made  access  dangerous,  and  frightened  away  those 
whose  approbation  was  most  desired. 

"  Yet,  because  it  is  seldom  believed  that  money  is  got  but  for 
the  love  of  money,  we  shall  tell  the  use  which  we  intend  to 
make  of  our  profits.  Many  artists  of  great  ability  are  unable 
to  sell  their  works  for  their  due  price.  To  remove  this  incon- 
venience an  annual  sale l  will  be  appointed,  to  which  every  one 
may  send  his  works,  and  send  them,  if  he  will,  without  his 
name.  These  works  will  be  reviewed  by  the  Committee  that 
conduct  the  exhibition :  a  price  will  be  secretly  set  on  every 
piece,  and  registered  by  the  Secretary.  If  the  piece  exposed  is 
sold  for  more,  the  whole  price  shall  be  the  artist's ;  but  if  the 
purchasers  value  it  at  less  than  the  Committee,  the  artist  shall 
be  paid  the  deficiency  from  the  profits  of  the  exhibition." 

The  exhibition,  for  which  this  address  was  an  apology, 
produced  £524  8s.  Id. ;  that  held  in  Spring  Gardens  in 
the  following  year,  1763,  £560  ;  and  in  1764,  £762  13s. 
The  property  of  the  Society  being  thus  steadily  on  the 
increase,  its  members  were  so  elated  at  the  success  of 
their  endeavours  that,  by  way  of  securing  their  privileges, 
they  resolved  at  a  general  meeting  held  on  the  24th  of 
January,  1764,  to  solicit  his  Majesty,  already  felt  to  be  a 
patron  of  the  arts,  to  incorporate  the  Society  by  Eoyal 
Charter.  This  was  granted  on  the  26th  of  January,  1765, 
from  which  time  it  was  designated  "  The  Incorporated 
Society  of  Artists  of  Great  Britain."  The  Eoll  Declara- 
tion contains  the  names  of  211  subscribers,  among  whom 
will  be  found  all  the  artists  of  eminence  of  the  day,  and 
many  doubtless  of  greatly  inferior  ability,  whose  names 
and  works  have  long  since  been  forgotten.  This  list  is 


1  This  attempt  was  once  made  at      factory  in  its  result  that  it  was  never 
Langford's   Rooms    in  the   Piazza,      repeated. 
Coveiit  Garden ;  but  was  so  unsatis- 


Cn.  II.]         INCORPORATED  SOCIETY  OF  ARTISTS 


interesting,  as  showing  how  many  men  were  then  labour- 
ing in  the  common  cause  of  art,  who  afterwards  became 
celebrated  in  their  profession.1 


1  The  following  is  the  list  of  artists  who  subscribed  the  Roll  Declaration 
of  the  Society  of  Incorporated  Artists  of  Great  Britain  in  1766  :  — 

[Those  printed  in  italics  subsequently  became  members  of  the  Royal  Academy.] 

Hauch,  P.  E. 
Hayward,  Richard 
Helm,  L. 
Herbert,  Charles 
Hill,  James 
Hodges,  H. 
Holland,  John 
Hone,  Nathaniel 
Hudson,  Thomas 
Humphry,  Ozias 

James,  George 
James,  Thomas 
James,  William 
Jennings,  J. 

Keate,  G. 
Kettle,  Tilly 
Kirby,  J. 

,  William 

Kirk,  John 

Lamborn,  P.  S. 
Lawrence,  Thomas 
Lawrenson,  Thomas 

,  William 

Leake,  Henry 
Lewis,  John 

Mancourt,  C. 
Manley,  II. 
Marchant,  Nathaniel 
Marchi,  J. 
M'Ardell,  J. 
Mario w,  William 
Martin,  David 
Mason,  James 
Mayor,  B. 
Maxell,  Peter 
Meyer,  J. 

Middleton,  Charloa 
Miller,  David 

,  John 

->T. 

Miller,  John  F. 
.Mill-hull,  Francis 


F.  Hat/man,  President 

Cotes,  Samuel 

A.  Ramsay,  Vice-Presi- 

Cozens, Alexander 

dent 

Alexander,  Cosmo 

Dott,  N.  T. 

Atwood,  Thomas 

Dalton,  Richard 

Dance,  George 

Baillier,  William 

"\rftfh  mi*  **7 

Baldwin,  Robert 

Davy,  R. 

Ballard,  Thomas 

Diemar,  T.  M. 

Bannerman,  Alexander 

Dixon,  John 

Barber,  Lewis 

Docker,  John 

Donaldson   J. 

Barralet,  John  J. 

Donowall,  John 

Barrett,  George 

Downes,  B. 

Barron,  Hugh 

Durno,  James 

Barry,  Edward 

Bartolozd,  Francis 

Ebdon,  Christopher 

Basher,  John 

Edwards,  Edward 

Baupre",  A. 

Edwards,  John 

Beanir,  Samuel 

Elliott,  William 

Berridge,  John 

Evans,  George 

Biarelli,  C. 

Bibb,  Charles 

Falconet,  Peter 

Bonneau,  Jacob 

Farington,  Joseph 

Boydell,  John 

Finney,  Samuel 

Brampton,  Richard 

Fisher,  Edward 

Brown,  Peter 

Forrester,  R.  W. 

Brown,  T. 

Fosifer,  John 

Biirdett,  Peter 

Friend,  J.  P. 

Burford,  Thomas 

Burgess,  Thomas 

Gainsborough,  Tfiomas 

Burton,  John 

Gilpin,  Sawrey 

Byrne,  William 

Gowpy,  Joseph 

Gossit,  Isaac 

Canot,  P.  C. 

Grandon,  John 

Carlini,  Andreio 

Green,  Benjamin 

Carver,  Robert 

Green,  Valentine 

Catton,  C. 

Greenwood,  John 

Chamber/in,  Mason 

Grease,  J. 

Chambers,  Thomas 

Grignion,  Charles 

Chambers,  W. 

Grose,  Francis 

Clarkson,  Nathaniel 

Grryn,  J. 

Clayton,  John 

Collins,  William 

Hall,  John 

Cosway,  Richard 

Hamilton,  John 

Cotes,  Fraud* 

,  Hugh  D. 

40 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  II. 


The  officers  of  the  Society  named  as  directors  in  the 
Eoyal  Charter,  were  George  Lambert,  President;  Francis 
Hayman,  Vice-President;  Eichard  Dalton,  Treasurer;  F.  M. 
Newton,  Secretary;  J.  M'Ardell,  George  Barrett,  William 
Chambers,  W.  Collins,  F.  Cotes,  C.  Grignion,  J.  Gwyn, 
N.  Hone,  J.  Meyer,  G.  M.  Moser,  J.  Payne,  E.  Penny, 
E.  Eooker,  Paul  Sandby,  C.  Seaton,  W.  Tyler,  S.  Wale, 
Eichard  Wilson,  G.  Wilton,  and  E.  Yeo.  In  this  Charter 
there  were,  unfortunately,  many  points  left  undetermined 
which  were  necessary  for  the  maintenance  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Society.  The  number  of  members  was  un- 
limited, each  one  being  designated  a  "  Fellow,"  and  every 
one  entitled  to  hold  office  as  a  "  Director." l 


Morland,  J.  C. 
Mortimer,  John 
Moser,  G. 

Nelson,  A. 
Nesbitt,  J. 
Newton,  F.  M. 
Newton,  William 
Nixon,  James 

Oneacle,  J.  H. 

Paine,  James 
Parbury,  George 
PaiT,  Samuel 
Parry,  William 
Parsons,  Francis 
Paxton,  John 
Peates,  J. 
Peters,  R. 

,  M.  W. 

Picot,  Vic  Maria 
Pine,  R.  E. 
Platt,  John 
Poland,  William 
Powell,  Cordal 
Pugh,  Hubert 

Ralph,  B. 
Ravenet,  Simon 
Reynolds,  Joshua 
Richards,  John 


Richards,  James 
Richardson,  George 
Robertson,  George 
Rogers,  Thomas 
Rooker,  Edward 

,  W.  H. 

Romney,  George 
Ryland,  W.  W. 

Sandby,  Thomas 

"-     ^'  )         Ctftw 

Sanger,  G. 
Schaak,  J.  H. 
Seaton,  C. 

,  John  T. 

Scrres,  Dominic 
Shaw,  William 
Sherlock,  G. 
Smart,  John 
Smirke,  Robert 
Smith,  Joachim 
Soldi,  Andrew 
Spicer,  Henry 
Stevens,  Edward 
Stewart,  Charles 
Strange,  Robert 
Stubbs,  George 
Sullivan,  Luke 
Sykes,  F. 

Tassaert,  P.  J. 
Taylor,  Isaac 


Taylor,  John 
Thompson,  William 
Tomkins,  W. 
Turner,  James 
Tyler,  W. 

Vardy,  John 
Vespre,  Francis 
Vivares,  Francis 

Wale,  Samuel 
Walton,  John 
Ward,  F.  S. 
W7atson,  James 
Webb,  Westfield 
Webster,  Samuel 
West,  Benjamin 
Wheatley,  Francis 
Williams,  Joshua 
Williams,  W. 
Wilkison,  George 
Wilson,  Richard 
Wilton,  Joseph 
Woollett,  William 
Wright,  Joseph 
Wright,  Richard 

Yeo,  Richard 

Zoffany,  J. 
Zucarelli,  Francis 


1  An  abstract  of  the  Charter  is      British  Art,"   and  the  whole  pro- 
printed    in    Pye's    "  Patronage    of      ceedings  of  the  directors  and  fellows 


CH.  II.]         INCORPORATED  SOCIETY  OF  ARTISTS  41 

The  exhibition  of  the  year  1765  produced  £826  12s., 
and  that  of  the  following  year  £874  9s. ;  but  it  would 
seem  that  no  public  academy  for  art-instruction  was  pro- 
posed ;  and  the  St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy  was  still  far 
from  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  the  artists,     A  resolu- 
tion was  passed  by  a  majority  of  the  Fellows  on  the  3rd 
of  March,  1767,  "  That  it  be  referred  to  the  directors  to 
consider  of  a  proper  form  for  instituting  a  public  academy, 
and  to  lay  the  same  before  the  quarterly  meeting  in  Sep- 
tember next."     This  resolution  was  repealed  in  conse- 
quence of  a  subsequent  announcement  made  to  them  by 
one  of  the  directors,  Mr.  Moser,  as  appears  by  a  minute 
dated  2nd  June,  1767.     "  Eesolved,  that  the  resolution 
that  the  directors  should  proceed  to  consider  of  a  form  for 
instituting  a  public  academy  be  repealed,  his  Majesty 
having  been  graciously  pleased  to  declare  his  royal  inten- 
tion of  taking  the  Academy  under  his  protection."     There 
is   little  hope  at  this   period,  of  ascertaining  what  the 
King  really  designed  to  do,  although  he  was  known  to  be 
a  lover  of  the  arts,  and  generously  disposed  towards  its  pro- 
fessors.   Sir  R.  Strange  tells  a  very  improbable  story, — no 
doubt  the  scandal  of  the  day, — that  Dalton,  the  treasurer 
of  the  Incorporated  Society,  had  embarked  in  a  specula- 
tion to  open  a  print  warehouse,  in  a  house  belonging  to 
Mr.  Lamb,  an  auctioneer  in  Pall  Mall ;  that  after  spending 
a  considerable  sum  in  alterations,  the  project  failed ;  and 
that  he  had  used  his  influence,  as  the  King's  librarian,  to 
persuade  liis  Majesty  to  establish  an  art- academy  in  these 
rooms,  to  relieve  himself  of  the  burden  and  loss  arising 
from  the  possession  of  them.     However  this  may  be,  the 
members  of  the  St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy  transferred 
their  furniture,  anatomical  figures,  statues,  &c.   to   the 
house  referred  to,  and  the  title  of  "  The  Eoyal  Academy  " 
was  placed  over  the  door.     Subscriptions  were  received 

at  this  time,  and  subsequently,  arc  Robert  Strange's  "  Inquiry  into  the 
fully  investigated  and  commented  Rise  and  Establishment  of  the  Royal 
upon  iu  that  work ;  and  also  in  Sir  Academy  of  Arts,"  1775. 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  II. 

towards  its  support,  and  each  student  paid  a  guinea  at 
the  opening.1  It  lasted  only  a  short  time ;  but  in  the 
year  1767  the  funds  of  the  Incorporated  Society,  amount- 
ing to  £1255  165.,  included  a  donation  from  the  King  of 
£100,  and  from  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales  of 
£10  10s.,  which  shows  that  his  Majesty  was  anxious  at 
that  time  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  society. 

A  painful  record  of  strife  and  dissension  follows.  The 
fundamental  error  of  the  original  Charter,  the  absence  of 
any  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  members  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  Society,  was  now  beginning  to  show  its 
pernicious  fruit ;  for  inferior  and  inexperienced  artists 
formed  the  majority,  constituted  themselves  into  a  party 
in  opposition  to  the  directors  (who  had  founded  the 
Society,  and  who  were  the  most  distinguished  artists  of 
their  time),  and  endeavoured  to  transfer  the  government 
to  then:  own  hands.  With  this  object  they  proposed  a 
law  to  remove  eight  of  the  twenty-four  directors  annually, 
to  be  replaced  by  others  from  their  own  number,  and 
obtained  an  affirmative  opinion  from  the  Attorney-General 
on  the  26th  June,  1768,  as  to  the  legality  of  this  course. 
It  was  naturally  opposed  by  the  directors,  but  neverthe- 
less carried  against  them  on  St.  Luke's  Day  (the  18th  of 
October),  when  Mr.  Joshua  Kirby  was  substituted  for 
Mr.  Francis  Hayman,  who  had  succeeded  Mr.  Lambert  as 
president;  Mr.  F.  M.  Newton  was  removed  from  the 
office  of  secretary ;  and  sixteen  of  the  directors  were  ex- 
cluded. The  members  of  the  Society  had  previously 
met,  in  compliance  with  the  terms  of  a  circular,  dated  8th 
October 2,  and  had  resolved  to  exclude  the  whole  of  the 
original  directors.  Those  who  were  newly  elected  quickly 
showed  that  love  of  power,  and  not  any  regard  for  the 
promotion  of  the  arts,  was  the  object  for  which  they 
sought  to  hold  office,  and  quickly  intimated  their  inten- 
tion of  removing  the  remaining  eight  of  the  old  directors 


1  See  Strange's  "  Inquiry,"  pp.  70—77.  2  Ibid.  pp.  88—89. 


CH.  II.]  RESIGNATION  OF  DIRECTORS  43 

at  the  next  quarterly  election.  Seeing,  therefore,  that 
there  was  no  prospect  of  an  amicable  termination  of  the 
struggle,  and  finding  the  government  of  the  Society  in- 
trusted to  men,  the  majority  of  whom  were  wanting  in 
practical  knowledge  of  art,  or  a  real  desire  to  advance 
the  interests  of  its  professors,  the  remaining  number  of 
the  old  directors  determined  also  to  withdraw  from  the 
Society,  and  tendered  their  resignation  accordingly  in  a 
letter,  which  was  couched  as  follows  : — 

"  To  Joshua  Kirby,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Society  of  Artists  of 
Great  Britain. 

"London,  November  10,  1768. 

"  Sir, — Though  we  had  the  strongest  objections  to  the  un- 
warrantable manner  in  which  most  of  the  present  directors  of 
the  Society  were  elected,  yet  our  affection  for  the  community 
was  such,  that  we  had,  in  spite  of  every  motive  to  the  contrary, 
resolved  to  keep  possession  of  our  directorships.  But  finding 
the  majority  of  the  present  directors  bent  upon  measures  which 
we  think  repugnant  to  our  charter,  and  tending  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Society,  we  judge  it  no  longer  safe  to  keep  possession 
of  our  employments :  therefore,  do  hereby  resign  them,  that  no 
part  of  the  blame  which  will  naturally  follow  the  measures  now 
pursuing  may  in  any  shape  be  laid  upon  us. 

"  From  the  motions  and  insinuations  of  the  last  meeting,  we 
clearly  see  what  plan  is  to  be  pursued ;  and  we  likewise  clearly 
perceive  that,  however  odious  and  hurtful  such  a  plan  may  be, 
we  shall  find  it  utterly  impossible  to  prevent  it. 

"We  would  not,  however,  by  any  means,  be  understood  to 
object  to  every  remaining  director.  You,  sir,  and  some  others, 
we  have  the  highest  esteem  for,  as  you  have  been  elected  into 
your  offices  without  taking  part  in  any  intrigue ;  and  being  men 
of  honour  and  ability  in  your  professions,  are  extremely  proper 
to  fill  the  places  you  occupy. 

"  We  are  therefore, 
"  Your  and  their  most  obedient,  humble  servants, 

"  JOSEPH  WILTON  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS 

EDWARD  PENNY  G.  M.  MOSKK 

RICHARD  WILSON  PAUL  SANDBY 

BENJAMIN  WEST  F.  M.  NEWTON." 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  II. 

Many  members  of  the  Society  followed  the  example  of 
these  directors,  and  the  faction  which  had  thus  excluded 
all  the  founders  from  any  part  in  its  government  was  not 
a  little  startled  by  the  result  of  its  proceedings.  The  con- 
duct of  the  directors  and  the  retiring  members  was 
severely  censured  at  the  time  by  those  who  were  so  little 
prepared  for  the  effect  and  consequences  of  it ;  but  we 
cannot  but  think  there  was  sufficient  reason  for  the  step 
they  determined  to  take,  when  they  found  the  Society 
diverted  from  its  original  purposes,  and  its  constitution 
completely  changed.  Nor  can  they  be  charged  with 
intrigue  (as  was  done  by  Sir  E.  Strange,  Hay  don,  and 
others),  when  they  united  together  subsequently  to  form 
another  society  more  congenial  to  their  own  tastes,  and 
better  adapted,  at  least  in  their  judgment,  to  promote  the 
knowledge  and  success  of  the  arts  in  England.  It  was 
not  to  be  endured  that  a  society  of  artists  should  consist 
chiefly  of  members  who  were  such  only  in  name,  and  who, 
in  their  desire  to  appropriate  the  funds  of  the  Society  eacli 
to  his  favourite  purpose,  shed  abroad  an  influence  for  evil 
which  preponderated  over  the  good,  and  left  the  true 
lovers  and  students  of  the  arts  at  their  mercy.  By  exa- 
mining the  list  of  the  members  of  the  Incorporated  Society, 
as  at  first  enrolled,  and  by  withdrawing  from  it  the  names 
of  those  who  subsequently  became  the  foundation- 
members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  it  will  at  once  be  seen 
that  the  true  artists  were  the  seceders,  and  the  result 
showed  that  as  an  art-academy  the  Incorporated  Society 
of  Artists  utterly  failed  without  their  aid  and  influence. 


45 


CHAPTEE  IE. 

ORIGIN  AND   FOUNDATION   OP  THE   EOYAL  ACADEMY,    1768 

Royal  Patronage  of  Art  solicited  —  Favourable  Reception  of  the  Artists1 
Memorial  by  George  III.  — Plan  of  the  Royal  Academy  —  Instrument  of 
its  Institution  —  Obligation  signed  by  its  First  Members  —  Election  of 
Officers  and  Professors  —  First  Public  Announcement  of  its  Foundation  — 
Tlie  Fate  of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  —  The  Diploma  —  The 
Royal  Favour  and  Bounty  bestowed  on  the  Academy,  and  its  Influence  on 
Art  —  The  Limitation  of  the  Number  of  the  Royal  Academicians  to  Forty 
—  The  Example  of  Foreign  Academies  in  this  Respect  —  Restriction  of 
Members  from  exhibiting  their  Works  elseiohere  than  at  the  Academy  — 
The  Advantages  of  the  Exhibition  to  Non-Members  —  The  Question  as  to  the 
Utility  of  Academies  of  Art  —  The  Characteristics  of  the  English  School. 

THE  directors  who  had  been  compelled  to  resign  their 
places  in  the  government  of  the  Incorporated  Society 
carried  with  them  the  sympathies  of  all  who  desired  to 
see  the  fine  arts  elevated  and  advanced,  and  they  wisely 
resolved  to  endeavour  to  rescue  the  study  of  art  from  the 
evil  effects  of  the  anarchy  and  confusion  which  had 
divided  the  association.  Very  quickly  after  the  retire- 
ment of  the  eight  directors  who  retained  office  when  the 
new  faction  succeeded  in  gaining  a  majority  in  the 
management,  four  of  their  number,  viz.  Chambers,  West, 
Cotes,  and  Moser,  formed  themselves  into  a  committee,  in 
order  to  take  measures  for  forming  a  new  academy,  which, 
by  its  constitution  and  government,  should  be  saved  from 
the  disastrous  consequences  of  the  defective  organisation 
of  all  the  preceding  attempts  of  the  same  kind. 

They  determined  at  the  outset  to  seek  the  royal  pro- 
tection, in  order  to  preserve  the  arts  in  England  from  the 
power  of  those  who  sought  not  to  promote  their  culture  so 


46  HISTORY   OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  HI. 

much  as  their  own  personal  aggrandisement ;  and  art  hap- 
pily found,  in  the  taste  and  judgment  of  King  George  III., 
a  noble  support,  and  its  professors  a  generous  and 
gracious  patron.  Chambers,  who  had  been  appointed 
tutor  in  architecture  to  the  young  prince  before  his 
accession  to  the  throne  (Moser  having  been  his  instructor 
in  delineation,  and  Kirby  in  perspective),  and  who  had 
subsequently  been  appointed  architect  of  works  to  the 
King,  and  enjoyed  the  royal  favour,  was  thus  enabled  to 
submit  the  whole  case  to  his  Majesty,  representing  that 
many  artists  of  reputation,  together  with  himself,  were 
very  desirous  of  establishing  a  society  that  should  more 
effectually  promote  the  arts  of  design  than  any  yet  esta- 
blished ;  but  that  they  were  sensible  their  design  could 
not  be  carried  into  execution  without  his  Majesty's 
patronage,  which  they  had  begged  him  to  solicit.  The 
King  was  not  ignorant  of  the  dissensions  existing  in  the 
Incorporated  Society,  for  they  had  been  publicly  referred 
to  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day ;  and  he  was  pleased,  in 
answer,  to  say,  that  whatever  tended  effectually  to  promote 
the  liberal  arts  might  always  rely  upon  his  patronage. 

Thus  encouraged,  the  four  artists  already  named  pre- 
sented (on  the  28th  of  November,  1768)  a  Memorial, 
setting  forth  the  prayer  of  the  artists  to  the  King,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy :  — 

"  To  the  King's  most  Excellent  Majesty : 

"May  it  please  your  Majesty,  We,  your  Majesty's  most 
faithful  subjects,  Painters,  Sculptors,  and  Architects  of  this 
metropolis,  being  desirous  of  establishing  a  Society  for  pro- 
moting the  Arts  of  Design,  and  sensible  how  ineffectual  every 
establishment  of  that  nature  must  be  without  the  Eoyal  in- 
fluence, most  humbly  beg  leave  to  solicit  your  Majesty's  gracious 
assistance,  patronage,  and  protection,  in  carrying  this  useful  plan 
into  execution. 

"  It  would  be  intruding  too  much  upon  your  Majesty's  time 
to  offer  a  minute  detail  of  our  plan.  We  only  beg  leave  to 
inform  your  Majesty,  that  the  two  principal  objects  we  have  in 


Cn.  m.]  MEMORIAL  TO  THE  KING  47 

view  are,  the  establishing  a  well-regulated  School  or  Academy 
of  Design,  for  the  use  of  students  in  the  Arts,  and  an  Annual 
Exhibition,  open  to  all  artists  of  distinguished  merit,  where 
they  may  offer  their  performances  to  public  inspection,  and 
acquire  that  degree  of  reputation  and  encouragement  which 
they  shall  be  deemed  to  deserve. 

"  We  apprehend  that  the  profits  arising  from  the  last  of  these 
institutions  will  fully  answer  all  the  expenses  of  the  first;  we 
even  natter  ourselves  they  will  be  more  than  necessary  for  that 
purpose,  and  that  we  shall  be  enabled  annually  to  distribute 
somewhat  in  useful  charities. 

"  Your  Majesty's  avowed  patronage  and  protection  is,  there- 
fore, all  that  we  at  present  humbly  sue  for  ;  but  should  we  be 
disappointed  in  our  expectations,  and  find  that  the  profits  of  the 
Society  are  insufficient  to  defray  its  expenses,  we  humbly  hope 
that  your  Majesty  will  not  deem  that  expense  ill-applied  which 
may  be  found  necessary  to  support  so  useful  an  institution.  We 
are,  with  the  warmest  sentiments  of  duty  and  respect, 

"  Your  Majesty's 

"Most  dutiful  subjects  and  servants, 

"  BENJAMIN  WEST  RICHARD  YEO 

FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI  MARY  MOSER 

NATHANIEL  DANCE  AGOSTINO  CARLINI 

RICHARD  WILSON  FRANCIS  COTES 

GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS 

SAMUEL  WALE  EDWARD  PENNY 

G.  BAPTIS.  CIPRIANI  JOSEPH  WILTON 

JEREMIAH  MEYER  GEORGE  BARRET 

ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN  FRA.  MILNER  NEWTON 

CHARLES  CATTON  PAUL  SANDBY 

FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI  FRANCIS  HAYMAN." 

The  King  received  this  memorial  very  graciously,  and 
stated  that  he  considered  the  culture  of  the  arts  as  a 
national  concern,  and  that  the  memorialists  might  depend 
upon  his  patronage  and  assistance  in  carrying  their  plan 
into  execution ;  but  that,  before  giving  his  sanction  to 
their  proposal,  he  wished  their  intentions  to  be  more 
fully  explained  to  him  in  writing.  This  was  done  by 
Chambers,  in  conjunction  with  other  artists  who  had 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  III. 

signed  the  memorial.1  Northcote,  in  his  "Life  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,"  tells  us  that  "  They  also  made  out  a 
list  of  their  officers,  as  well  as  of  those  who  were  to  com- 
pose the  body,  containing  about  thirty  names,  and  had 
inserted  that  of  Reynolds  among  the  rest.  This  list  was 
to  be  delivered  to  the  King  for  his  approbation  and  sig- 
nature. However,  Mr.  Reynolds  was  still  unwilling  to 
join  with  either  party,  which  resolution  he  made  known 
to  Sir  William  Chambers,  in  consequence  of  which  Mr. 
Penny  was  sent  to  persuade  him  to  join  the  party ;  but 
that  proved  in  vain.  Penny  then  applied  to  Mr.  West, 
and  begged  him  to  intercede  with  Reynolds,  adding  that 
he  was  the  only  person  who  could  influence  him  to  con- 
sent. Mr.  West  accordingly  called  on  Mr.  Reynolds  on 
the  same  evening  on  which  the  whole  party  had  a  meet- 
ing, about  thirty  in  number,  at  Mr.  Wilton's  house,  ex- 
pecting the  result  of  Mr.  West's  negotiation,  as  the  King 
had  appointed  the  following  morning  to  receive  their 
plan,  with  the  nomination  of  their  officers.  Mr.  West 
remained  upwards  of  two  hours  endeavouring  to  per- 
suade Reynolds  ;  and  at  last  prevailed  so  far,  that  he 
ordered  his  coach,  and  went  with  Mr.  West  to  meet  the 
party ;  and  immediately  on  his  entering  the  room  they 
with  one  voice  hailed  him  as  'President.'  He  seemed 
to  be  very  much  affected  by  the  compliment,  and  re- 
turned them  his  thanks  for  the  high  mark  of  their  ap- 
probation ;  but  declined  the  honour  till  such  time  as  he 
had  consulted  with  his  friends,  Dr.  Johnson  and  Mr. 
Edmund  Burke.  This  demur  greatly  disappointed  the 
company,  as  they  were  expected  to  be  with  the  King  on 
the  very  next  morning  by  appointment ;  but  Messrs.  West 
and  Cotes  avoided  going  to  the  King  the  next  day,  as 
they  could  not  present  him  with  a  complete  list  of  their 


1  See  the  introduction  to  Edwards'      Royal  Academy  to  the  General  As- 
"  Anecdotes  of  Painters,"   and  the      sembly  of  Academicians,  1860." 
"  Report  from  the  Council  of  the 


CH.  III.]        THE  "  INSTRUMENT "  OF  INSTITUTION  49 

officers,  for  the  want  of  a  President ;  and  it  was  not  for  a 
fortnight  afterwards  that  Eeynolds  gave  his  consent." 

On  the  7th  of  December,  the  sketch  of  the  plan  of 
the  proposed  academy  was  presented  to  the  King,  and 
his  Majesty  was  pleased  to  express  his  approval  of  it. 
He  requested  that  the  whole  might  be  submitted  in  form 
for  his  signature ;  and  on  Saturday,  the  10th  of  De- 
cember, 1768,  it  was  laid  before  his  Majesty,  and  signed 
by  him.  Thus  was  founded  THE  KOYAL  ACADEMY  OF 
ARTS  IN  LONDON,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CULTIVATING  AND 
IMPROVING  THE  ARTS  OF  PAINTING,  SCULPTURE,  AND  ARCHI- 
TECTURE. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  "  Instrument "  which 
was  submitted  for  the  Eoyal  sanction,  and  which  defines 
the  constitution  and  government  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
thus  auspiciously  inaugurated  :  — 

"  INSTRUMENT. 

"  Whereas  sundry  persons,  resident  in  this  metropolis,  eminent 
professors  of  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  have  most 
humbly  represented  by  memorial  unto  the  King  that  they  are 
desirous  of  establishing  a  Society  for  promoting  the  Arts  of 
Design,  and  earnestly  soliciting  his  Majesty's  patronage  and 
assistance  in  carrying  this  their  plan  into  execution ;  and, 
whereas,  its  great  utility  hath  been  fully  and  clearly  demon- 
strated, his  Majesty,  therefore,  desirous  of  encouraging  every 
useful  undertaking,  doth  hereby  institute  and  establish  the  said 
Society,  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  Koyal  Academy  of  Arts 
in  London,  graciously  declaring  himself  the  patron,  protector, 
and  supporter  thereof;  and  commanding  that  it  be  established 
under  the  forms  and  regulations  hereinafter  mentioned,  which 
have  been  most  humbly  laid  before  his  Majesty,  and  received 
his  royal  approbation  and  assent. 

"I.  The  said  Society  shall  consist  of  forty  members  only, 
who  shall  be  called  Academicians  of  the  Royal  Academy;  they 
shall  all  of  them  be  artists  by  profession  at  the  time  of  their 
admission — that  is  to  say,  painters,  sculptors,  or  architects,  men 
of  fair  moral  characters,  of  high  reputation  in  their  several  pro- 
fessions ;  at  least  five-and-twenty  years  of  age ;  resident  in  Great 

VOL.  I.  E 


50  HISTOKY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  III. 

Britain  ;  and  not  members  of  any  other  society  of  artists  esta- 
blished in  London. 

«f '  II.  It  is  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  the  following  forty 
persons  be  the  original  members  of  the  said  Society,  viz.:  — 

JOSHUA  REYNOLDS  G.  MICHAEL  MOSER 

BENJAMIN  WEST  SAMUEL  WALE 

THOMAS  SANDBY  PETER  TOMS 

FRANCIS  COTES  ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN 

JOHN  BAKER  RICHARD  YEO 

MASON  CHAMBERLIN  MARY  MOSER 

JOHN  GWYNN  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS 

THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH  JOSEPH  WILTON 

J.  BAPTIST  CIPRIANI  GEORGE  BARRET 

JEREMIAH  MEYER  EDWARD  PENNY 

FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON  AGOSTINO  CARLINI 

PAUL  SANDBY  FRANCIS  HAYMAN 

FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI  DOMINIC  SERRES 

CHARLES  CATTON  JOHN  RICHARDS 

NATHANIEL  HONE  FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI 

WILLIAM  TYLER  GEORGE  DANCE 

NATHANIEL  DANCE  WILLIAM  HOARE 

RICHARD  WILSON  JOHAN  ZOFFANY 

"  III.  After  the  first  institution,  all  vacancies  of  Academicians 
shall  be  filled  by  election  from  amongst  the  exhibitors  in  the 
Royal  Academy;  the  names  of  the  candidates  for  admission 
shall  be  put  up  in  the  Academy  three  months  before  the  day  of 
election,  of  which  day  timely  notice  shall  be  given  in  writing  to 
all  the  Academicians  ;  each  candidate  shall,  on  the  day  of  elec- 
tion, have  at  least  thirty  suffrages  in  his  favour,  to  be  duly 
elected  ;  and  he  shall  not  receive  his  letter  of  admission  till  he 
hath  deposited  in  the  Royal  Academy,  to  remain  there,  a  pic- 
ture, bas-relief,  or  other  specimen  of  his  abilities  approved  of 
by  the  then  sitting  Council  of  the  Academy. 

"  I\T.  For  the  government  of  the  Society  there  shall  be  annu- 
ally elected  a  President  and  eight  other  persons,  who  shall  form 
a  Council,  which  shall  have  the  entire  direction  and  management 
of  all  the  business  of  the  Society ;  and  all  the  officers  and  ser- 
vants thereof  shall  be  subservient  to  the  said  council,  which 
shall  have  power  to  reform  all  abuses,  to  censure  such  as  are 
deficient  in  their  duty,  and  (with  the  consent  of  the  general 
body,  and  the  King's  permission  first  obtained  for  that  purpose), 
to  suspend  or  entirely  remove  from  their  employments  such  as 


On.  III.]        THE  «  INSTKUMENT "  OF  INSTITUTION  51 

shall  be  found  guilty  of  any  great  offences.  The  council  shall 
meet  as  often  as  the  business  of  the  Society  shall  require  it ; 
every  member  shall  be  punctual  to  the  hour  of  appointment, 
under  the  penalty  of  a  fine,  at  the  option  of  the  council ;  and  at 
each  meeting  the  attending  members  shall  receive  forty-five 
shillings,  to  be  equally  divided  amongst  them,  in  which  division, 
however,  the  secretary  shall  not  be  comprehended. 

"  V.  The  seats  in  the  council  shall  go  by  succession  to  all  the 
members  of  the  Society,  excepting  the  secretary,  who  shall 
always  belong  thereto.  Four  of  the  council  shall  be  voted  out 
every  year,  and  these  shall  not  re-occupy  their  seats  in  the 
council  till  all  the  rest  have  served ;  neither  the  president  nor 
secretary  shall  have  any  vote  either  in  the  council  or  general 
assembly,  excepting  the  suffrages  be  equal,  in  which  case  the 
president  shall  have  the  casting  vote. 

"  VI.  There  shall  be  a  Secretary  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  elected 
by  ballot,  from  amongst  the  Academicians,  and  approved  of  by 
the  King ;  his  business  shall  be  to  keep  the  minutes  of  the 
council,  to  write  letters,  and  send  summonses,  &c.;  he  shall 
attend  at  the  exhibition,  assist  in  disposing  the  performances, 
make  out  the  catalogues,  &c.;  he  shall  also,  when  the  keeper 
of  the  Academy  is  indisposed,  take  upon  himself  the  care  of  the 
Academy  and  the  inspection  of  the  Schools  of  Design,  for  which 
he  shall  be  properly  qualified ;  his  salary  shall  be  sixty  pounds 
a  year,  and  he  shall  continue  in  office  during  his  Majesty's 
pleasure. 

"  VII.  There  shall  be  a  Keeper  of  the  Royal  Academy,  elected 
by  ballot,  from  amongst  the  Academicians ;  he  shall  be  an  able 
painter  of  history,  sculptor,  or  other  artist,  properly  qualified. 
His  business  shall  be  to  keep  the  Royal  Academy,  with  the 
models,  casts,  books,  and  other  moveables  belonging  thereto ; 
to  attend  regularly  the  Schools  of  Design  during  the  sittings  of 
the  students,  to  preserve  order  among  them,  and  to  give  them 
such  advice  and  instruction  as  they  shall  require ;  he  shall  have 
the  immediate  direction  of  all  the  servants  of  the  Academy, 
shall  regulate  all  things  relating  to  the  schools,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  visitors,  provide  the  living  models,  &c.  He 
shall  attend  at  the  exhibition,  assist  in  disposing  the  perform- 
ances, and  be  constantly  at  hand  to  preserve  order  and  decorum. 
His  salary  shall  be  one  hundred  pounds  a  year ;  he  shall  have  a 
convenient  apartment  allotted  him  in  the  Royal  Academy,  where 

•  9 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

he  shall  constantly  reside ;  and  he  shall  continue  in  office  during 
the  King's  pleasure. 

"  VIII.  There  shall  be  a  Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
who,  as  the  King  is  graciously  pleased  to  pay  all  deficiencies, 
shall  be  appointed  by  his  Majesty  from  amongst  the  Academi- 
cians, that  he  may  have  a  person  on  whom  he  places  full  confi- 
dence in  an  office  where  his  interest  is  concerned ;  and  his 
Majesty  doth  hereby  nominate  and  appoint  William  Chambers, 
Esquire,  architect  of  his  works,  to  be  treasurer  of  the  Koyal 
Academy  of  Arts ;  which  office  he  shall  hold,  together  with  the 
emoluments  thereof,  from  the  date  of  these  presents,  and  during 
his  Majesty's  pleasure.  His  business  shall  be  to  receive  the 
rents  and  profits  of  the  Academy,  to  pay  its  expenses,  to  super- 
intend repairs  of  the  buildings  and  alterations,  to  examine  all 
bills,  and  to  conclude  all  bargains ;  he  shall  once  in  every 
quarter  lay  a  fair  state  of  his  accounts  before  the  council,  and 
when  they  have  passed  examination  and  been  approved  there, 
he  shall  lay  them  before  the  Keeper  of  his  Majesty's  Privy 
Purse,  to  be  by  him  finally  audited  and  the  deficiencies  paid; 
his  salary  shall  be  sixty  pounds  a  year. 

"IX.  That  the  Schools  of  Design  maybe  under  the  direction 
of  the  ablest  artists,  there  shall  be  elected  annually  from 
amongst  the  Academicians  nine  persons  who  shall  be  called 
Visitors;  they  shall  be  painters  of  history,  able  sculptors,  or 
other  persons  properly  qualified;  their  business  shall  be  to 
attend  the  schools  by  rotation  each  a  month,  to  set  the  figures, 
to  examine  the  performances  of  the  students,  to  advise  and 
instruct  them,  to  endeavour  to  form  their  taste,  and  turn  their 
attention  towards  that  branch  of  the  arts  for  which  they  shall 
seem  to  have  the  aptest  disposition.  These  officers  shall  be 
approved  of  by  the  King ;  they  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  trea- 
sury ten  shillings  and  sixpence  for  each  time  of  attending,  which 
shall  be  at  least  two  hours,  and  shall  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  ten 
shillings  and  sixpence  whenever  they  neglect  to  attend,  unless 
they  appoint  a  proxy  from  amongst  the  visitors  for  the  time 
being,  in  which  case  he  shall  be  entitled  to  the  reward.  At 
every  election  of  visitors  four  of  the  old  visitors  shall  be  declared 
non-eligible. 

"  X.  There  shall  be  a  Professor  of  Anatomy,  who  shall  read 
annually  six  public  lectures  in  the  schools,  adapted  to  the  arts 
of  design  ;  his  salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year ;  and  he  shall 
continue  in  office  during  the  King's  pleasure. 


On.  III.]         THE  "  INSTRUMENT "  OF  INSTITUTION  53 

"  XI.  There  shall  be  a  Professor  of  Architecture,  who  shall 
read  annually  six  public  Lectures,  calculated  to  form  the  taste 
of  the  Students,  tp  instruct  them  in  the  laws  and  principles  of 
composition,  to  point  out  to  them  the  beauties  or  faults  of  cele- 
brated productions,  to  fit  them  for  an  unprejudiced  study  of 
books,  and  for  a  critical  examination  of  structures ;  his  salary 
shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year ;  and  he  shall  continue  in  office 
during  the  King's  pleasure. 

"  XII.  There  shall  be  a  Professor  of  Painting,  who  shall 
read  annually  six  Lectures  calculated  to  instruct  the  Students 
in  the  principles  of  composition,  to  form  their  taste  of  design 
and  colouring,  to  strengthen  their  judgment,  to  point  out  to 
them  the  beauties  and  imperfections  of  celebrated  works  of 
Art,  and  the  particular  excellences  or  defects  of  great  masters ; 
and,  finally,  to  lead  them  into  the  readiest  and  most  efficacious 
paths  of  study ;  his  salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year ;  and 
he  shall  continue  in  office  during  the  King's  pleasure. 

"  XIII.  There  shall  be  a  Professor  of  Perspective  and  Geo- 
metry, who  shall  read  six  public  Lectures  annually  in  the 
Schools,  in  which  all  the  useful  propositions  of  Geometry,  toge- 
ther with  the  principle  of  Lineal  and  Aerial  Perspective,  and 
also  the  projection  of  shadows,  reflections,  and  refractions  shall 
be  clearly  and  fully  illustrated;  he  shall  particularly  confine 
himself  to  the  quickest,  easiest,  and  most  exact  methods  of 
operation.  He  shall  continue  in  office  during  the  King's  plea- 
sure ;  and  his  salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year. 

"  XIV.  The  Lectures  of  all  the  Professors  shall  be  laid  before 
the  Council  for  its  approbation,  which  shall  be  obtained  in 
writing,  before  they  can  be  read  in  the  public  Schools.  All 
these  Professors  shall  be  elected  by  ballot,  the  last  three  from 
amongst  the  Academicians. 

"  XV.  There  shall  be  a  Porter  of  the  Koyal  Academy,  whose 
salary  shall  be  twenty-five  pounds  a  year;  he  shall  have  a  room 
in  the  Royal  Academy,  and  receive  his  orders  from  the  Keeper 
or  Secretary. 

"XVI.  There  shall  be  a  Sweeper  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
whose  salary  shall  be  ten  pounds  a  year. 

"  XVII.  There  shall  be  an  Annual  Exhibition  of  Paintings, 
Sculpture,  and  Designs,  which  shall  be  open  to  all  Artists  of 
distinguished  merit ;  it  shall  contiilue  for  the  public  one  month, 
and  be  under  the  regulations  expressed  in  the  bye-laws  of  the 
Society,  hereafter  to  be  made.  Of  the  profits  arising  therefrom, 


51  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  III. 

two  hundred  pounds  shall  be  given  to  indigent  artists,  or  their 
families,  and  the  remainder  shall  be  employed  in  the  support  of 
the  Institution.  All  Academicians,  till  they  have  attained  the 
age  of  sixty,  shall  be  obliged  to  exhibit  at  least  one  perform- 
ance, under  a  penalty  of  five  pounds,  to  be  paid  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Academy,  unless  they  can  show  sufficient  cause 
for  their  omission;  but,  after  that  age,  they  shall  be  exempt 
from  all  duty. 

"  XVIII.  There  shall  be  a  Winter  Academy  of  Living  Models, 
men  and  women  of  different  characters,  under  the  regulations 
expressed  in  the  bye-laws  of  the  Society,  hereafter  to  be  made, 
free  to  all  Students  who  shall  be  qualified  to  receive  advantage 
from  such  studies. 

"  XIX.  There  shall  be  a  Summer  Academy  of  Living  Models 
to  paint  after,  also  of  Laymen  with  draperies,  both  Ancient  and 
Modern,  Plaster  Figures,  Bas-reliefs,  models  and  designs  of 
Fruits,  Flowers,  Ornaments,  &c.,  free  to  all  artists  qualified  to 
receive  advantage  from  such  studies,  and  under  the  regulations 
expressed  in  the  bye-laws  of  the  Society  hereafter  to  be  made. 

"XX.  There  shall  be  a  Library  of  Books  of  Architecture, 
Sculpture,  Painting,  and  all  the  Sciences  relating  thereto ;  also 
prints  of  bas-reliefs,  vases,  trophies,  ornaments,  dresses,  ancient 
and  modern  customs  and  ceremonies,  instruments  of  war  and  arts, 
utensils  of  sacrifice,  and  all  other  things  useful  to  Students  in 
the  Arts ;  which  Library  shall  be  open  one  day  in  every  week 
to  all  Students  properly  qualified.  One  of  the  Members  of  the 
Council  shall  attend  in  the  room  during  the  whole  time  it  is 
open,  to  keep  order,  and  to  see  that  no  damage  is  done  to  the 
books ;  and  he  shall  be  paid  10s.  6d.  for  his  attendance.  No 
books  shall,  under  any  pretence,  be  suffered  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  Library;  but  every  Academician  shall  have  free  ingress  at 
all  seasonable  times  of  the  day  to  consult  the  books,  and  to 
make  designs  or  sketches  from  them. 

"  XXI.  There  shall  be  annually  one  Greneral  Meeting  of  the 
whole  body,  or  more  if  requisite,  to  elect  the  Council  and 
Visitors ;  to  confirm  new  laws  and  regulations ;  to  hear  com- 
.plaints  and  redress  grievances,  if  there  be  any ;  and  to  do  any 
other  business  relative  to  the  Society. 

"  XXII.  The  Council  shall  frame  new  laws  and  regulations ; 
but  they  shall  have  no  force,  till  ratified  by  the  consent  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  the  approbation  of  the  King. 

"  XXIII.  Though  it  may  not  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  In- 


CH.  III.]         THE  "INSTRUMENT"  OF  INSTITUTION  55 

stitution  absolutely  to  prohibit  pluralities,  yet  they  are  as  much 
as  possible  to  be  avoided,  that  his  Majesty's  gracious  intention 
may  be  complied  with,  by  dividing  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
emoluments  of  the  Institution  amongst  all  its  Members. 

"  XXIV.  If  any  Member  of  the  Society  shall,  by  any  means, 
become  obnoxious,  it  may  be  put  to  the  ballot,  in  the  General 
Assembly,  whether  he  shall  be  expelled,  and  if  there  be  found 
a  majority  for  expulsion,  he  shall  be  expelled,  provided  his 
Majesty's  permission  be  first  obtained  for  that  purpose. 

"  XXV.  No  Student  shall  be  admitted  into  the  Schools,  till 
he  hath  satisfied  the  Keeper  of  the  Academy,  the  Visitor,  and 
Council  for  the  time  being,  of  his  abilities ;  which  being  done, 
he  shall  receive  his  Letter  of  Admission,  signed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Academy,  certifying  that  he  is  admitted  a  Student  in  the 
Royal  Schools. 

"  XXVI.  If  any  Student  be  guilty  of  improper  behaviour  in 
the  Schools,  or  doth  not  quietly  submit  to  the  Rules  and  Orders 
established  for  their  regulation,  it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the 
Council,  upon  complaint  being  first  made  by  the  Keeper  of  the 
Academy,  to  expel,  reprimand,  or  rusticate  him  for  a  certain 
time  ;  but  if  he  be  once  expelled,  he  shall  never  be  re-admitted 
in  the  Royal  Schools. 

"  XXVII.  All  modes  of  elections  shall  be  regulated  by  the 
bye-laws  of  the  Society,  hereafter  to  be  made  for  that  purpose. 

"  I  approve  of  this  plan ;  let  it  be  put  into  execution. 

"  GEORGE,  R. 
"ST.  JAMES'S,  December  10th,  1768." 

Four  days  after  the  completion  of  this  important  docu- 
ment, a  meeting  of  twenty-eight  of  the  thirty-four  Royal 
Academicians  nominated  by  the  King  was  held ',  at  which 
they  signed  the  following  obligation  :  — 

"  London,  December  14th,  1708. 

"  His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to  institute 
and  establish  a  society  for  promoting  the  Arts  of  Design,  under 
the  name  and  title  of  the  '  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,'  in  London ; 


1  The    whole    number    of  forty  nominated  by  the  Kinjr,  two  others, 

members  WHS  not  completed  for  five  Julian  /ollimij  and  William  Hoare, 

years  afterwards.    In  addition  to  the  were  added  in  17(50.   All  subsequent 

thirty-four  artists  who  were  at  first  appointments  were  by  election. 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  III. 

and  having  signified  his  royal  intention  that  the  said  society 
should  be  established  under  certain  laws  and  regulations,  con- 
tained in  the  Instrument  of  the  establishment,  signed  by  his 
Majesty's  own  hand, 

"  We,  therefore,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  either 
original  or  elected  members  of  the  said  society,  do  promise, 
each  for  himself,  to  observe  all  the  laws  and  regulations  con- 
tained in  the  said  Instrument ;  as,  also,  all  other  laws,  bye-laws, 
or  regulations,  either  made,  or  hereafter  to  be  made,  for  the 
better  government  of  the  above-mentioned  society  ;  promising, 
furthermore,  on  every  occasion  to  employ  our  utmost  endeavours 
to  promote  the  honour  and  interest  of  the  establishment,  so 
long  as  we  shall  continue  members  thereof." 

At  the  same  meeting  the  following  officers  were  elected 
by  ballot :  — 

JOSHUA  REYNOLDS,  President. 

GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER,  Keeper. 

FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON,  Secretary. 

Council. — GEORGE  BARRET,  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS,  FRANCIS  COTES, 
NATHANIEL  HONE,  JEREMIAH  MEYER,  EDWARD 
PENNY,  PAUL  SANDBY,  JOSEPH  WILTON. 

Visitors.  — AGOSTINO  CARLINI,  CHARLES  CATTON,  G.  BAPTIST 
CIPRIANI,  NATHANIEL  DANCE,  FRANCIS  HAYMAN, 
PETER  TOMS,  BENJAMIN  WEST,  RICHARD  WILSON, 
FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI. 

And  at  the  general  assembly  of  the  Eoyal  Academi- 
cians on  the  17th  of  December,  1768,  the  first  professors 
were  elected  also  by  ballot,  viz. :  — 

EDWARD  PENNY,  Professor  of  Painting. 
THOMAS  SANDBY,        ,,  Architecture. 

DR.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Anatomy. 

SAMUEL  WALE,  „  Perspective. 

It  was  not  till  all  these  arrangements  were  made,  that 
the  fact  of  the  intention  of  founding  a  Eoyal  Academy  was 
publicly  announced,  as  the  King  wished  it  to  be  kept  a 
secret,  lest  it  might  be  converted  into  a  vehicle  of  poli- 
tical influence  The  mode  in  which  it  was  made  known 
to  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  is  recorded  in 


CH.  III.]    FIRST  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  ITS  FOUNDATION        57 

the  "  Life  of  West,"  by  John  Gait,  who  read  the  manu- 
script of  it  to  him  previous  to  his  last  illness *,  and  which, 
therefore,  may  be  regarded  as  a  true  version  of  what 
occurred :  "  While  his  Majesty  and  the  Queen  at 
Windsor  Castle  were  looking  at  West's  picture  of  '  Ee- 
gulus,'  just  then  finished,  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Kirby,  the 
new  President  of  the  Incorporated  Society,  was  announced. 
The  King  having  consulted  with  his  Consort  in  German, 
admitted  him,  and  introduced  him  to  West,  to  whose 
person  he  was  a  stranger.  He  looked  at  the  picture, 
praised  it  warmly,  and  congratulated  the  artist.  Then 
turning  to  the  King,  said,  '  Your  Majesty  never  mentioned 
anything  of  this  work  to  me.  Who  made  the  frame  ? 
It  is  not  made  by  one  of  your  Majesty's  workmen ; 
it  ought  to  have  been  made  by  the  Eoyal  carver  and 
gilder.'  To  this,  the  King  calmly  replied,  '  Kirby,  when- 
ever you  are  able  to  paint  me  such  a  picture  as  this,  your 
friend  shall  make  the  frame.'  '  I  hope,  Mr.  West,'  said 
Kirby,  'that  you  intend  to  exhibit  this  picture?'  'It  is. 
painted  for  the  palace,'  said  West,  '  and  its  exhibition 
must  depend  upon  his  Majesty's  pleasure.'  'Assuredly,' 
said  the  King ;  '  I  shall  be  very  happy  to  let  the  work  be 
shown  to  the  public.'  'Then,  Mr.  West,'  said  Kirby, 
'  you  will  send  it  to  my  exhibition  ? '  '  No,'  interrupted 
his  Majesty,  'it  must  go  to  my  exhibition — to  that  of  the 
Royal  Academy' — and  in  that  exhibition  it  was  subse^- 
quently  seen  and  admired.  The  President  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Artists  bowed  with  much  humility,  and  retired. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  presented  a  petition  to  the  King 
from  the  Society,  representing  their  alleged  grievances, 
and  soliciting  his  exclusive  patronage,  to  which  an  answer 
was  returned  that '  the  Society  had  his  Majesty's  protec- 
tion ;  that  he  did  not  mean  to  encourage  one  set  of  men 
more  than  another ;  that  having  extended  his  favour  to 
the  Society  by  Eoyal  charter,  he  had  also  encouraged  the 


See  Gait's  preface  to  the  second  part  of  hU  "  Life  of  West,"  pp.  30—38. 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

new  petitioners  ;  that  his  intention  was  to  patronize  the 
arts ;  and  that  he  should  visit  the  exhibition  as  usual.'  "l 
The  interest  taken  by  the  King  in  the  progress  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  however,  was  alike  earnest  and  un- 
ceasing. He  had  himself  suggested  many  of  the  regu- 
lations for  its  government,  and  when  it  was  established, 
not  only  became  the  patron  of  the  society,  but  was 
pleased  to  take  it  thenceforward  under  his  personal  con- 
trol. Apartments  were  provided  for  the  Academy  in 
his  own  palace  of  Somerset  House ;  and  when  the  old 
mansion,  originally  built  by  the  Protector  Somerset,  was 
taken  down,  and  the  site  appropriated  for  public  offices, 
his  Majesty  stipulated  with  the  government  that  apart- 
ments should  be  constructed  in  the  new  building  for  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  among  other  learned  societies.  Further 
than  this,  the  King  retained  in  his  own  hands  the  right  of 
approving  of  all  artists  elected  into  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
and  in  his  own  handwriting  drew  up  the  form  of  a 


1  See  Strange's  "Inquiry,"  pp.  108,  Gardens,  where  its  last  appearance 

109.     It  is  iiot  necessary  to  detail  was  made   in  1791 — two  mterme- 

the  subsequent  history  of  this  society.  diate  exhibitions  having  been  held 

Its  decline  was  gradual  5  but  at  the  in  1783  and  1790,  at  the  Lyceum, 

period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  It    had    long    previously    virtually 

1768,  it  still  numbered  more  than  a  ceased  to   exist,  for  its  power  and 

hundred  members.     The  king  gave  influence,  as  well  as  its  usefulness 

the  society  £100  in  17G9,  and  at-  had  departed,  when  at  least  the  great 

tended  the  Exhibition;  but  it  was  majority  of  the  able  artists  of  the 

the  last  visit  they  had  from  him.  day  had  withdrawn  from  it  in  the 

The  following  year  the  receipts  de-  unhappy  dissensions  of  former  years. 

creased.      In   1771   they  again   in-  The  last  surviving  member  of  the 

creased,  and  a  pamphlet  published  society,  Mr.  Robert  Pollard,  died  at 

by  the  society  entitled  "The  Con-  the    age    of    eighty- three,    having 

duct  of   the    Royal    Academicians  previously,  in  October  1836,  given 

while  Members   of  the   Society   of  up  the  whole  of  the  books,  papers, 

Artists,"  attracted  attention  to  their  and  minute-books  of  the  society,  as 

proceedings.     In  1772,  they  built  at  well  as  the  royal  charter  of  its  in- 

a  cost  of  £7500  the  great  room,  the  corporation,    to    the   charge   of  the 

Lyceum  in  the  Strand,  for  their  ex-  Royal  Academy,  in  whose  possession 

hibition,  and  thus  contracted  a  debt  they  now  are.     An  abstract  of  these 

of  £4000 ;    becoming    embarrassed,  documents  was  arranged  for  publica- 

they  sold  it  again  in  1773.     Subse-  tion  in  the  Literary  Panorama  for 

quent  exhibitions  were  made  in  1778  1807  and  1808,  in  which  all  that  is 

and  1779,  at  Mr.  Philip's  room  in  of  general  interest  in  regard  to  the 

Piccadilly,  near  Air  Street.   In  1780  society's  proceedings  may  be  found, 
their  exhibition  was  held  in  Spring 


On.  III.]  THE  "DIPLOMA"  59 

Diploma  to  be  granted  to  each  member  on  his  election, 
the  Eoyal  Sign-manual  being  affixed  to  the  diploma  of 
each  Eoyal  Academician,  and  no  election  being  valid 
until  this  is  done.  The  following  is  the  form  of  the 
diploma : — 

"George  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  (rod,  King  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c.,  to 
our  trusty  and  well  beloved  greeting. 

"  Whereas,  we  have  thought  fit  to  establish  in  this  our  City 
of  London  a  Society  for  the  purposes  of  the  arts  of  Painting, 
Sculpture,  and  Architecture,  under  the  name  and  title  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  of  Arts,  and  under  our  own  immediate  patro- 
nage and  protection;  and  whereas,  we  have  resolved  to  intrust 
the  sole  management  and  direction  of  the  said  society  under  us 
to  Forty  Academicians,  the  most  able  and  respectable  artists  in 
Great  Britain :  We,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  your  great 
skill  in  the  art  of  [Painting]  do  by  these  presents  constitute 
and  appoint  you  to  be  one  of  the  Forty  Academicians  of  our 
said  Royal  Academy,  hereby  granting  unto  you  all  the  endow- 
ments thereof,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  institution  under 
our  sign-manual  upon  the  :  And  we  are  the  more 

readily  induced  to  confer  upon  you  this  honourable  distinction, 
as  we  are  firmly  persuaded  you  will  upon  every  occasion  exert 
yourself  in  support  of  the  honour,  interest,  and  dignity  of  the 
said  establishment,  and  that  you  will  faithfully  and  assiduously 
discharge  the  duties  of  the  several  offices  to  which  you  may  be 
nominated.  In  consequence  of  this  our  gracious  resolution,  it 
is  our  pleasure  that  your  name  be  forthwith  inserted  in  the 
roll  of  the  Academicians,  and  that  you  subscribe  the  obligation 
in  the  form  and  manner  prescribed. 

"  Given  at  our  Royal  Palace  of  St.  James,  the  day  of 

in  the  year  ." 

It  was  not  simply  the  advantage  of  the  Eoyal  favour 
and  interest  in  its  proceedings,  which  the  new  institution 
was  privileged  to  enjoy.  Substantial  aid  was  needed  by 
a  society  starting  into  existence  amidst  rivalry  and  oppo- 
sition, and  at  a  time  when  a  public  taste  for  art  had  to  be 
created ;  and  it  was  afforded  by  the  King  munificently 
engaging  to  supply  out  of  his  Majesty's  privy  purse,  any 


00  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

deficiency  in  its  funds  arising  out  of  the  gratuitous  in- 
struction of  students  in  the  Fine  Arts,  or  by  donations 
granted  to  distressed  or  superannuated  artists  and  their 
families.  The  more  effectually  to  exercise  control  over 
the  funds,  the  King  directed  all  the  accounts  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  him,  and  audited  by  the  Keeper  of  the  Privy 
Purse,  and  retained  in  his  own  hands  the  appointment  of 
treasurer,  as  well  as  that  of  librarian. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  have  always  felt  justly  proud  that  their 
institution  was  established,  and  for  at  least  twelve  years 
after  its  formation  aided,  by  "  Eoyal  munificence  ;  "  and 
that  the  interest  of  the  Sovereign  in  its  proceedings  is  still 
a  matter  of  rejoicing  to  all  who  desire  to  see  the  Fine 
Arts  flourish  in  our  land.  For  as  the  Council  has  justly 
observed,  "  In  considering  the  advantages  which  the 
Academy  enjoys  from  the  Eoyal  favour,  with  more  espe- 
cial reference  to  the  members,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  rewards  of  merit  are  not  benefits  for  those 
only  on  whom  they  are  conferred,  but  for  all  those  to 
whom  they  are  offered.  In  all  professions  the  attainment 
of  excellence  is  promoted  no  less  by  the  struggle  for 
success  which  affects  many,  than  by  the  success  itself, 
which  affects  one.  The  advantage  of  the  Eoyal  favour 
and  patronage  graciously  conferred  on  the  Academy  is 
therefore  an  advantage  to  the  professors  of  art  generally. 
That  those  honours  are  difficult  of  attainment  is  a  condi- 
tion common  to  all  distinctions  that  worthily  excite  com- 
petition. The  members  of  the  Academy,  from  its  origin 
until  now,  have  ah1  contended  with  rivals  in  the  race,  and 
have  all  experienced  the  difficulty  of  winning  the  prize. 
The  privileges  of  the  Academy  as  an  institution  can  only 
be  privileges  as  long  as  it  comprehends  the  majority  of 
the  first  professors  of  art  in  the  country.  Not  even  the 
Eoyal  favour  extended  to  inferior  artists  could  render  their 
works  universally  attractive.  With  reference  to  the 
Academy,  therefore,  the  Eoyal  favour  is  to  be  regarded, 


CH.  III.]  LIMITED  NUMBER  OF  MEMBERS  01 

as  it  always  should  be  regarded,  as  a  stimulus  to  all  for 
the  attainment  of  excellence,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the 
honourable  result  of  public  approbation."  l 

The  limitation  made  by  the  Instrument  of  institution  of 
the  number  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians  to  forty,  has  been 
a  ceaseless  source  of  contention  from  the  first  foundation 
of  the  Academy  to  the  present  time.  It  was  at  first  argued 
that  it  was  intentionally  done  to  exclude  so  many  of  the 
artists  of  the  Incorporated  Society  as  never  to  give  them 
a  preponderance  over  the  old  directors  of  that  Society, 
who  had  seceded  from  it  to  become  the  founders  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy 2 ;  and  Sir  Eobert  Strange  was  vain 
enough  to  declare  that  the  exclusion  of  engravers  gene- 
rally was  adopted  purposely  to  debar  him  from  the  privi- 
leges of  membership.3  As  the  English  school  gathered 
strength,  it  has  been  urged  that  the  Eoyal  Academy 
should  have  expanded  and  enlarged  its  numbers  in  pro- 
portion to  the  numerical  increase  of  English  artists,  so  that 
now  it  would  need  to  be  increased  to  at  least  treble  its 
original  constitution ;  and  the  Academy  is  charged  with 
undue  exclusiveness,  and  a  failure  of  its  high  mission  in 
the  cause  of  art,  because  it  has  not  fully  met  these 
demands. 

Such  statements  deserve  careful  examination  before 
they  are  either  contradicted  or  adopted.  Looking  at  the 
state  of  art  in  this  country  a  century  ago,  and  contrasting 
it  with  its  present  position,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
advance  has  been  steady,  substantial,  and  rapid.  Indeed, 
as  we  contemplate  the  works  of  the  artists  who  exhibited 
in  1760  with  those  whose  works  are  now  to  be  seen  all 
around  us,  we  question  whether  it  must  not  be  admitted 
that  the  original  number  of  forty  was  not  far  beyond  the 
requirements  of  the  year  17G8,  and  that  being  based  on 
the  number  of  artists  who  were  entitled  to  membership 


1  "  Report  of  the   Council "   for      the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
I860,  p.  10.  of  Commons  "  on  Arts,  &c.,  1830. 

8  See  Ilaydon's  "  Evidence  before          *  Strange'a  "Inquiry,"'  p.  112. 


02  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

in  several  of  the  Foreign  Academies  then  existing,  it  was 
rather  intended  to  reach  that  number  in  England  in  the 
future,  as  the  knowledge  of  art  and  the  ability  of  its  pro- 
fessors advanced.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  motive 
for  leaving  several  vacancies  in  the  original  number  un- 
filled for  some  years :  and  even  with  this  admission  of 
the  necessity  of  limiting  the  honour  of  full  membership  to 
artists  of  established  reputation,  it  may  fairly  be  questioned 
whether  several  of  those  who  were  then  elected  would 
have  been  chosen  had  they  lived  in  our  own  day.  It 
seems,  therefore,  that  the  limit  originally  fixed  was  a  very 
large  one  —  too  wide  for  the  then  infantile  state  of  the 
English  school  —  but  one  which  it  might  reasonably  hope 
speedily  to  reach. 

That  it  has  done  so  is  admitted ;  but  the  next  question 
is  whether  the  progress  made  has  been  such  as  to  demand 
a  yet  further  extension  ?  It  must  be  remembered  that  if 
the  title  of  Eoyal  Academician  is  to  carry  with  it  a  re- 
cognised claim  to  superior  excellence  on  the  part  of  the 
artist  on  whom  it  is  conferred,  if  it  is  to  be  an  honour 
sufficiently  great  to  be  an  impulse  to  the  young  aspirant, 
and  a  laudable  ambition  in  the  artist  of  acknowledged 
merit,  it  ought  not  to  be  the  common  dignity  of  every 
one  who  has  proved  his  claim  to  be  ranked  among  the 
large  number  of  good  painters,  or  sculptors,  or  architects, 
which  we  now  happily  possess.  And  we  cannot  help 
questioning  whether  any  country,  in  ancient  or  modern 
times,  has  ever  been  able  to  produce  at  any  one  time 
forty  artists  of  whom  it  could  be  said  that  they  were  of 
such  superior  ability  as  to  render  them  famous,  not  only 
while  living,  but  in  after  ages,  as  eminent  in  their  pro- 
fession and  masters  of  their  art.  If  the  highest  honours 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy  should  be  reserved  "for  such  as 
these,  then  it  is  very  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  forty  is 
not  more  than  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
or  at  all  events  ample  for  all  time.  The  vexed  question 
of  the  admission  of  engravers  to  full  academic  honours 


CH.  III.]  ASSOCIATED  MEMBERS  63 

has  been  set  at  rest,  and  will  be  noticed  in  the  course  of 
this  history. 

But  while  the  full  dignity  of  Eoyal  Academician  is  thus 
wisely  limited,  it  is  open  for  consideration  whether  it 
might  not  be  a  fair  encouragement  to  offer  to  a  large 
number  of  really  talented  artists,  to  allow  them  to  become 
associated  members,  without  taking  any  part  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  or  if  at  all,  by  being 
permitted  to  nominate  as  representatives  of  their  own 
body,  a  certain  number  of  artists,  for  election  by  the 
forty  academicians.  The  bitter  experience  of  the  fate  of 
the  societies  of  artists  which  existed  as  corporate  bodies, 
and  which  were  torn  by  dissensions  consequent  on  their 
government  being  under  the  direction  of  so  large  a  num- 
ber, or  by  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  majority  to  the 
government  of  the  few,  justified  the  founders  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  so  constituting  it  that  it  should  be  preserved 
from  this  peril ;  and  from  the  tone  in  which  the  question  is 
still  discussed,  the  necessity  remains  that  the  power  of 
governing  should  be  vested  in  those  who  have  attained, 
by  their  own  ability,  to  the  coveted  pinnacle  of  fame  in 
art,  and  that  in  associating  around  them  their  brother 
artists  who  are  seeking  similar  honours,  they  should  in 
some  measure  adopt  a  relative  position  to  that  of  the 
Senate  in  the  Universities.  In  this  view  it  may,  perhaps, 
be  desirable  hereafter  to  remove  all  restrictions  as  to  the 
number  of  associates  and  associate  engravers,  or  to  in- 
crease their  number ;  the  election  being  confined,  as  at 
present,  to  the  academicians,  and  the  claim  to  acknow- 
ledged merit  as  an  artist  being  the  only  qualification  de- 
manded of  the  candidate  for  what  would  still  be,  though 
more  easily  attainable  than  at  present,  a  coveted  mark  of 
dictinction. 

Several  foreign  academies  were  in  existence  at  the 
time  of  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy;  and  as 
the  question  of  establishing  such  an  institution  in  this 
country  had  been  discussed,  and  many  fruitless  efforts  had 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

been  made  for  some  years  previously,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  their  constitution  was  examined  before  that  of  the 
English  one  was  determined ;  and  it  will  be  found  on  re- 
ference to  the  Continental  art-societies,  whether  of  olden 
times  or  of  more  modern  date,  that  as  a  general  rule  the 
number  of  academicians  is  not  greater  in  them  than  in  our 
own.  In  the  French  Academy  (originating  in  the  ancient 
company  of  St.  Luke),  founded  in  1648  by  Louis  XIV., 
and  of  which  Le  Brun  was  the  first  president,  the  total 
number  is  forty,  consisting  of  fourteen  painters,  eight 
sculptors,  eight  architects,  four  engravers,  and  six  pro- 
fessors of  music.  The  Eoyal  Academy  of  the  Arts  of 
Berlin  was  founded  in  1699  by  Frederic  L,  and  consists 
of  twenty-one  painters,  five  sculptors,  five  architects,  and 
five  professors  of  music,  besides  a  large  number  of 
honorary  members,  native  and  foreign.  In  the  Academy 
of  St.  Luke  at  Eome,  established  in  1595,  there  are 
twelve  historical  painters,  twelve  sculptors,  and  twelve 
architects,  who  are  required  to  reside  there,  and  also 
four  portrait  painters,  four  landscape  painters,  four  gem 
engravers,  and  four  engravers,  partly  resident  and  partly 
foreigners,  besides  academicians  "  of  merit,"  consisting  of 
twenty  foreign  artists  of  each  of  the  first  three  classes. 
An  academy  was  established  at  Munich  in  1770,  which 
was  subsequently  in  1808  re-founded  by  Joseph  I.  as  the 
Eoyal  Munich  Academy,  with  a  director,  three  historical 
painters,  one  sculptor,  two  architects,  one  engraver,  one 
teacher  of  elementary  painting,  one  corrector  in  the 
antique  school,  one  professor  of  the  history  of  art  (all 
receiving  salaries  and  retiring  pensions  from  the  Govern- 
ment), and  four  other  professors,  in  all  fifteen  members, 
besides  an  unlimited  number  of  honorary  members  and 
artists.  The  Eoyal  Academy  of  Antwerp  comprehends 
fifteen  painters,  five  sculptors,  three  architects,  one 
engraver,  and  one  professor  of  drawing,  besides  associated 
and  honorary  members.  The  academies  of  Florence, 
Eome,  and  Bologna,  as  assemblies  of  honour  as  well  as 


CH.  III.]      CONSTITUTION  OF  FOREIGN  ACADEMIES  Go 

gratuitous  schools  of  the  arts,  seem  especially  to  have 
been  imitated  in  the  constitution  of  our  own  Academy ; 
and  forty,  which  was  the  original  number  of  the  acade- 
micians of  Florence,  has  been  the  limit  of  the  number  of 
members  adopted  in  most  of  the  subsequent  institutions 
of  the  same  nature. 

By  one  of  the  laws  in  the  original  constitution  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  its  members  were  prohibited  from  be- 
longing to  any  other  institution  or  society  of  artists  in 
London.  This  regulation  has  been  considered  as  calcu- 
lated to  give  an  exclusive  character  to  the  Academy,  and 
to  be  unnecessary.  In  the  present  day  it  undoubtedly  is 
so ;  and  it  would  appear1  that  if  not  actually  cancelled, 
it  has  long  ceased  to  be  acted  upon.  The  original 
founders  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  may,  indeed,  have  thought 
it  a  prudent  step  to  guard  themselves  against  similar  dis- 
sensions to  those  which  had  debased  the  art-societies 
then  in  existence,  and  out  of  which  it  arose ;  and  also, 
since  the  new  institution  would  have  mainly  to  depend 
for  support  upon  the  contributions  of  the  public,  it  may 
have  been  deemed  necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  a  de- 
cline of  the  funds,  to  require  the  members  to  centre  the 
attractions,  which  the  products  of  their  talents  might 
afford,  solely  in  the  new  society.  This  state  of  things  no 
longer  exists,  and  therefore  the  members  of  the  Royal 
Academy  are  now  found  exhibiting  their  works  at  the 
British  Institution  and  at  other  places,  and  are  not  de- 
barred from  taking  office  in  other  kindred  societies.  It 
is  quite  certain  that  the  Royal  Academy  in  no  case  hinders 
the  formation  of  new  art-societies,  even  when  founded 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  pictures,  and  that 
it  is  always  ready  to  promote  the  establishment  of  schools 
of  art  in  the  metropolis  and  in  the  provinces. 

The  fact  that  the  exhibitions  which  annually  provide 


1  Evidence   of  Sir  M.  A.   Shee,      the  Select  Committee  of  the  Com- 
P.R.A.    (questions  1000-2),  before      nions,  on  Arts,  1830. 

VOL.  I.  F 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  III. 

the  income  and  replenish  the  coffers  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
are  partly  composed  of  works  by  artists  who  are  not 
members,  and  that  the  academicians  themselves  rarely 
contribute  as  largely  to  them,  as  by  their  own  restricted 
privilege  they  are  permitted  to  do — has  been  cited  (as 
we  think  unfairly),  to  indicate  that  the  members  derive 
the  benefit  of  the  exhibition  of  the  works  of  artists  not 
belonging  to  their  society,  and  to  whom  they  give  no  re- 
turn. In  many  cases  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  know- 
ledge that  they  will  find  many  works  of  real  excellence, 
by  men  of  established  position  and  talent  as  artists,  leads 
persons  to  visit  the  exhibition  who  would  not  else  be 
found  within  its  walls ;  while  in  others  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  multitude  and  variety  of  works  may  attract  many 
more  than  would  be  found  if  the  exhibition  consisted 
exclusively  of  the  works  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians.  But 
is  an  injustice  really  done  to  our  aspiring  artists  by  this 
arrangement  ?  That  they  do  not  think  so,  we  know  by 
the  fact  that  there  are  as  many  works  excluded  as  ex- 
hibited, in  consequence  of  the  limited  space  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Academy,  and  by  the  eagerness  with  which  they 
strive  to  attain  an  entrance  for  their  productions.  In 
some  of  the  modern  exhibitions,  which  have  been  com- 
menced upon  the  principle  of  admitting  all  works  upon 
payment  by  the  exhibitor  for  the  extent  of  wall-space 
occupied,  the  artist  finds  that  the  attendance  of  real 
lovers  or  patrons  of  art  is  comparatively  nothing,  and  the 
money  he  expends  is  fruitlessly  employed ;  whereas,  with- 
out charge,  and  in  a  place  where  Eoyalty,  nobility,  and 
fashion  congregate,  and  where  English  art  in  its  annual 
development  is  studied  by  the  art-patron,  connoisseur  and 
critic,  he  has  a  chance  of  attaining  fame  and  gaining 
patronage  which  would  never  reach  him  in  any  other 
way.  So  far,  therefore,  from  the  plan  being  disad- 
vantageous to  young  or  unknown  artists,  it  affords  them 
the  surest  means  of  attracting  attention  to  their  works ; 
and  that  the  Academy  places  its  exhibition-room  at  their 


CH.  III.]  EXHIBITORS  AT  THE  ACADEMY  67 

disposal,  as  far  as  its  space  will  allow,  and  sometimes  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  works  of  its  members1,  ought  to  be 
regarded  by  them  as  a  boon  and  a  proof  of  its  desire  to 
advance  the  cause  of  art,  without  respect  to  the  rights 
which  its  own  constitution  might  authorize  it  to  reserve 
to  its  own  members. 

That  the  Eoyal  Academy  thus  finds  its  income  in- 
creased is  undoubted  ;  but  this  does  not  give  the  exhibitors 
who  are  not  members  of  the  Academy,  any  ground  of 
complaint  that  they  do  not  share  in  the  emoluments  thus 
derived.  It  is  true  that,  under  certain  conditions,  there 
are  pensions  obtainable  by  members  of  the  Royal  Aca- 
demy and  by  their  survivors  ;  but  it  is  not  often  that  they 
come  within  those  conditions,  and  a  very  much  larger 
sum  has  been  expended  upon  those  unconnected  with 
the  Academy  than  upon  its  members.  But  the  distribu- 
tion of  aid  to  artists  or  their  families  in  need  of  it,  is  the 
pleasant  labour  of  the  Academy,  not  always  limited  to 
the  pensions  claimed  by  its  members,  nor  to  the  gifts  dis- 
pensed to  exhibitors  or  their  families ;  and  so  quietly  and 
delicately  is  this  aid  rendered,  that  not  even  the  members 
of  the  Academy  are  aware  of  the  names  of  those  who 
are  thus  benefited,  but  only  the  council  for  the  time 
being,  by  whom  these  gifts  of  kindness  are  dispensed. 
Artists  who  are  neither  academicians  nor  associates,  and 
the  families  of  many  men  of  genius  little  known,  and  cut 
short  in  their  career  before  they  could  attain  the  means 
of  leaving  a  provision  for  those  nearest  and  dearest  to 
them,  are  thus  befriended,  silently  and  without  an  attempt 
at  display  of  charity,  by  the  substantial  means  of  brotherly 
sympathy  which  the  funds  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  enable 


1  "  I  must  do  the  members  of  the  avoidable,  to  see  works  by  contri- 

Royal  Academy  the  justice  to  say,  butors  occupying   those  prominent 

that  some  of  their  own  works  have  places,  which  by  a  fair  and  acknow- 

been  this  year  withdrawn  to  make  ledged  privilege,  are  usually  assigned 

room  for  others ;  and  it  is  satisfactory,  to  members." — SjM-n-h  of  <S'«V  C.  East- 

amid    the    disappointments    which,  fnki;  P.  It.  A.,  at  the  Itoyal  Academy 

under    the   circumstances    are    un-  Dinner,  1800. 

r  2 


08  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  III. 

its  council  to  bestow  among  the  less  fortunate  artists  of 
our  country. 

The  general  question  as  to  the  utility  of  academies  of 
art  has  always  been  one  upon  which  much  difference  of 
opinion  has  been  expressed.  Fuseli,  one  of  the  professors 
in  the  Eoyal  Academy,  a  Swiss  by  birth,  attributes  the 
origin  of  academies  to  the  decline  of  art,  when,  in  his 
twelfth  "Lecture  on  Painting,"  he  says  :  — 

"  The  very  proposals  of  premiums,  honours  and  rewards,  to 
excite  talent  or  rouse  genius,  prove  of  themselves  that  the  age 
is  unfavoui*able  to  art ;  for  had  it  the  patronage  of  the  public, 
how  could  it  want  them  ?  We  have  now  been  in  possession  of 
an  Academy  more  than  half  a  century,  all  the  intrinsic  means  of 
forming  a  style  alternate  at  our  command,  professional  instruc- 
tion has  never  ceased  to  direct  the  student,  premiums  are  dis- 
tributed to  rear  talent  and  stimulate  emulation,  and  stipends 
are  granted  to  relieve  the  wants  of  genius,  and  finish  education, 

—  and  what  is  the  result?  ...  If  our  present  state  moderates 
our  hopes,  it  ought  to  invigorate  our  efforts  for  the  ultimate 
preservation  and,  if  immediate  restoration  be  hopeless,  the 
gradual  recovery  of  art.  To  raise  the  arts  to  a  conspicuous 
height,  may  not  perhaps  be  in  our  power ;  we  shall  have  deserved 
well  of  posterity  if  we  succeed  in  stemming  their  further  down- 
fall,— if  we  fix  them  on  the  solid  base  of  principle.  If  it  be 
out  of  our  power  to  furnish  the  student's  activity  with  adequate 
practice,  we  may  contribute  to  form  his  theory ;  and  criticism 

—founded  on  experiment,  instructed  by  comparison,  in  posses- 
sion of  the  labours  of  every  epoch  of  art  —  may  spread  the 
genuine  elements  of  taste,  and  check  the  present  torrent  of 
affectation  and  insipidity.  This  is  the  real  state  of  our  institu- 
tion, if  we  may  judge  from  analogy All  schools  of 

painters,  whether  public  or  private,  supported  by  patronage  or 
individual  contribution  were,  and  are,  symptoms  of  art  in 
distress, — monuments  of  public  dereliction,  and  decay  of  taste. 
But  they  are,  at  the  same  time,  the  asylum  of  the  student,  the 
theatre  of  his  exercises,  the  repositories  of  the  materials,  the 
archives  of  the  documents  of  our  art,  whose  principles  their 
officers  are  bound  now  to  maintain,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
which  they  are  responsible  to  posterity." 

With  this  peculiar  view  of  the  character  of  academies, 


CH.  III.]  OBJECTIONS  TO  ART-ACADEMIES  69 

and  the  prospects  of  art,  few  will  be  inclined  to  coincide ; 
but  many  consider  academies  inimical  to  the  true  progress 
of  art,  on  account  of  their  tendency  to  establish  a  uniform 
style  of  art,  and  to  engender  mannerism.  Mr.  E.  N. 
Wornum  says :  — 

"  It  is  this  suppression  of  originality,  this  levelling  of  all 
capacities  to  one  standard,  that  is  the  chief  danger  to  be  guarded 
against,  in  an  academic  education.  That  an  assembly  of 
students,  constantly  aiming  at  the  same  ends,  copying  the  same 
models  in  the  same  manner,  should  acquire  a  very  great  same- 
ness of  thought  and  style  is  not  extraordinary;  and  it  is  this 
consummation,  the  trim  method  of  mediocrity,  that  is  the  shoal 
that  the  academic  helmsman  has  to  avoid." 

Dr.  Waagen,  of  Berlin,  an  eminent  art-critic,  sees  no 
good  in  such  institutions,  for  — 

"  On  comparing  a  number  of  specimens  of  the  different 
schools,  such  as  those  in  Paris,  St.  Petersburg,  and  other  places, 
all  exhibited  a  striking  similarity  of  manner;  while  in  the 
earlier  times,  and  in  the  earlier  method  of  teaching,  the 
character  of  the  schools  of  different  nations,  and  that  of  each 

individual  artist,  was  entirely  original  and  distinct By 

this  academic  method,  which  deadened  the  natural  talent,  it  is 
sufficiently  explained  why,  out  of  so  great  a  number  of  academic 
pupils,  so  few  distinguished  painters  have  arisen." 

But,  as  Mr.  Wornum  observes,1  — 

"  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  a  well-regulated  academy  can  be 
prejudicial  to  the  arts ;  the  multiplication  of  the  labourers  in 
the  field  of  art,  when  well  instructed,  can  only  be  denounced  as 
a  prejudice  to  the  cause  of  art  by  a  narrow-minded  selfishness 
—the  labourers  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  beauty  cannot  be 
too  numerous.  It  is  perfectly  true,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
academies  are  not  necessary  to  the  production  of  great  artists ; 
it  is  also  an  incontestable  fact  that  the  rise  of  academies  has 
been  coincident  with  the  decline  of  art ;  yet  this  does  not  show 
that  the  latter  was  a  consequence  of  the  former,  though  it  may 


1  See  "  Lectures  on  Paintinpr,  by      tiral  and  illustrative,  by  Ralph  N. 
the    Royal    Academicians ;     edited      Wornum."     London :  Dohn,  1848. 
with  ail  introduction  and  notes,  cri- 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  III. 

be  owing  to  their  inefficient  systems.  However  this  may  be, 
the  artists  of  the  seventeenth  century,  unable  to  overlook  the 
obvious  decline  of  art,  hurrying  to  its  consummation,  associated 
together  for  its  preservation ;  and  thus  gratuitous  academies  of 
art  supplanted  the  old-established  system  of  family  tuition,  to 
which  the  famous  schools  of  Italy  owed  nearly  all  their  great- 
ness." 

The  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  1  distinctly  disown 
that  it  is  a  tribunal  of  taste,  arrogating  to  itself  the 
superintendence  of  art,  and  declare  its  great  object  to  be 
the  promotion  of  art  by  instruction  and  emulation  :  — 

"  Within  the  Academy,  the  two  objects  are  combined.  The 
means  of  study,  and  the  occasional  teaching  which  directs  it, 
are  provided ;  and  competition,  even  when  not  public,  is  always 
unconsciously  operating.  The  instruction  in  art,  which  can  be 
really  useful,  is  adapted  chiefly  for  the  young ;  and  even  among 
them,  as  Reynolds  has  observed,  *  a  youth  more  easily  receives 
instruction  from  the  companions  of  his  studies  .  .  .  than  from 
those  who  are  much  his  superiors  ;  and  it  is  from  his  equals  only 
that  he  catches  the  fire  of  emulation.'  It  is  with  his  fellow- 
students,  also,  that  he  contends  for  the  premiums  and  privileges 
Avhich  the  Academy  offers  in  its  schools.  But  whatever  may  be 
the  deference  to  the  rules  of  art,  and  to  works  of  established 
reputation,  which  is  exacted  from  beginners,  no  academic  re- 
straint is  imposed  on  the  student  who  enters  upon  his  career 
with  the  public  for  his  judges.  The  variety  of  styles,  not  only 
among  young  candidates  for  fame,  but  even  among  the  members 
of  the  Academy  themselves,  sufficiently  proves  that  no  arbitrary 
type,  in  tastes  or  methods,  is  proposed.  The  student,  fortified 
with  the  requisite  elementary  instruction,  and  free  to  gather  his 
impressions  and  inspirations  where  he  lists,  next  aims  at  the 
distinction  which  a  far  wider  competition  offers.  The  emulation 
which  the  Academy  promotes  is  then  stimulated  by  the  exhibi- 
tion, subsequently  by  the  honours  of  the  institution,  and  un- 
ceasingly by  a  rivalry  with  the  best  artists  in  the  country." 

From  the  establishment  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  there- 
fore, we  may  date  the  foundation  of  the  English  School  of 


Report  of  the  Council  to  the  General  Assembly,  I860,  p.  16. 


CH.  III.]  THE  ENGLISH  SCHOOL  71 

Painting,  one  which  less  than  any  other  bears  the  traces 
of  mannerism,  or  of  special  characteristics  in  style  and 
subject  by  which  so  many  foreign  schools  are  painfully 
distinguished.  Each  of  the  great  masters  in  this  modern 
English  school  has  taken  his  own  view  of  nature,  and  his 
own  treatment  of  his  subject.  It  cannot  be  said  that  all 
our  modern  artists  of  celebrity  have  imitated  those  under 
whom  they  were  educated,  and  thus  one  of  the  objections 
urged  against  art-teaching  in  academies  is  at  once  dis- 
proved, at  least  so  far  as  our  own  school  is  concerned. 
Nature  is  the  great  teacher  of  all  who  attain  to  eminence 
as  artists  ;  and  there  is  enough  of  diversity  and  variety  in 
her  aspects  of  things  around  us,  and  in  the  passions  and 
emotions  of  the  human  heart  within  us,  to  afford  abundant 
material  for  artists  to  take  diverse  paths, —  some  to 
luxuriate  in  the  forests  and  the  sheltered  glade, — some  to 
wander  in  the  corn-fields  or  the  meadows, — others  to 
track  the  pathless  sea,  or  depict  its  ebb  and  flow  upon 
the  shore, — some  to  picture  men  in  their  simplicity,  others 
in  their  pride,  —  to  portray  the  peasant's  home,  or  the 
noble's  mansion, — the  village  church,  or  the  cathedral 
city, — the  teachings  of  history,  alike  of  olden  time  and 
of  every-day  life,  —  and  to  bring  before  us  some  faint 
conceptions  of  those  great  themes,  in  connection  with 
Scriptural  truths,  upon  which  the  faith  of  our  fathers, 
and  our  own  hopes,  are  built.  That  this  universality  of 
subject,  combined  with  a  mode  of  treatment  original  in 
itself,  and  free  from  conventional  forms,  is  the  characteristic 
of  the  English  school,  is  the  best  token  by  which  to  augur 
its  future  advancement  to  increasing  excellence. 


72 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   FOUNDATION   MEMBEES   OP   THE   EOYAL  ACADEMY. 

The  First  President :  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS. 

Professors :  ED.  PENNY,  Painting :  THOS.  SANDBY,  Architecture :  SAM. 
WALE,  Perspective:  DR.  W.  HUNTER,  Anatomy. 

Painters: — Historical:  BENJ.  WEST,  (future  President),  F.  BARTOLOZZI,  G. 
B.  CIPRIANI,  M.  A.  A.  C.  KATTFFMAN,  F.  HAYMAN.  Portrait:  F. 
COTES,  J.  MEYER,  M.  CHAMBERLIN,  P.  TOMS,  N.  HONE,  F.  M.  NEWTON, 
N.  DANCE.  Landscape,  $c. :  G.  BARRET,  C.  CATTON,  P.  SANDBY, 
J.  RICHARDS,  D.  SERRES,  R.  WILSON,  T.  GAINSBOROUGH,  F.  ZUCCA- 
RELLI,  J.  BAKER,  and  M.  MOSER. 

Architects:  SIR  W.  CHAMBERS,  J.  GWYNN,  and  G.  DANCE. 

Sculptm-s :  W.  TYLER,  J.  WILTON,  G.  M.  MOSER,  R.  YEO,  and  A.  CARLINI. 

THE  personal  history  of  the  foundation  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  now  claims  our  attention,  that  we 
may  know  what  sort  of  men,  both  in  professional  ability 
and  in  individual  character,  they  were  to  whom  the 
direction  of  the  new  Institution  was  entrusted.  The  list 
of  the  thirty-four  original  members  nominated  by  the 
King,  certainly  included  the  majority  of  the  most  able 
artists  of  the  day,  but  there  were  several  men  of  great 
reputation  at  that  time  whom  we  might  have  expected  to 
find  added  to  it :  as,  for  instance,  Allan  Eamsay,  principal 
painter  to  the  King ;  Hudson,  Highmore,  and  Eomney, 
the  portrait  painters ;  Samuel  Scott,  the  marine  painter ; 
George  Knapton,  who  wrought  chiefly  in  crayons,  and 
some  others.  It  is  difficult,  at  this  distant  period,  to  know 
why  some  of  these  men  did  not  occupy  places  in  the 
Eoyal  Academy.  Some  of  them  were  growing  old  and 
infirm  at  the  time  of  its  foundation,  and  the  reserved 
habits  of  Eomney  have  been  assigned  as  the  reason  why 


Cn.  IV.]  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS  73 

he  did  not  join  his  brother  artists.  There  was,  however, 
a  goodly  company,  notwithstanding  these  omissions  of 
some  portion  of  the  art- talent  of  the  day. 

Among  the  thirty-four  artists  of  whom  we  have  first 
to  speak,  we  find  there  were  twenty-five  painters,  five 
sculptors  and  medallists,  and  four  architects.  The  painters 
might  again  be  subdivided  into  eight  historical,  eight 
portrait,  seven  landscape,  and  two  flower  painters.  The 
proportion  of  painters  is  large  compared  with  architects 
and  sculptors ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  their 
works  were  needed  in  larger  numbers  to  render  the  exhi- 
bition (the  real  source  of  the  revenue  of  the  Academy) 
attractive,  and  that  there  were  fewer  architects  and  sculp- 
tors in  consequence  of  the  little  patronage  extended  to 
those  branches  of  the  arts  at  the  time. 

The  name  of  Sir  JOSHUA  EEYNOLDS,  RE.  A.,  must  neces- 
sarily be  placed  first  in  our  brief  biographical  notices  of 
the  members,  as  it  stands  also  at  the  head  of  the  list  of 
artists  which  this  country  has  produced,  as  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  English  school  of  painting. 

He  was  born  at  Plympton,  near  Plymouth,  in  Devon- 
shire, on  the  16th  July,  1723.  His  father  was  the  Eev. 
Samuel  Eeynolds,  the  rector  of  Plympton  St.  Mary,  and 
master  of  the  Grammar  School  there.  He  intended  his 
son  for  the  medical  profession,  and  bestowed  upon  him  a 
liberal  education  ;  but  as  from  a  child  he  manifested  a 
decided  predilection  for  drawing,  his  future  profession  was 
changed  to  that  of  an  artist.  His  natural  bias  towards 
the  arts  was  strengthened  by  a  very  early  study  of  the 
"  Jesuits'  Perspective,"  and  converted  into  a  passion  by  the 
subsequent  perusal  ofEichardson's  "Treatise  on  Painting." 
In  1741,  when  in  his  eighteenth  year,  he  was  placed  as 
a  pupil  for  four  years  with  George  Hudson,  the  most 
famous  portrait  painter  of  that  time.  By  him  he  was 
set  to  copy  Guercino's  drawings,  and  soon  excited  a  feel- 
ing of  rivalry  by  his  skill  in  portraiture.  This  led  in 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

about  two  years  to  disagreement,  and  Eeynolds,  leaving 
Hudson's  studio,  subsequently  practised  with  William 
Gandy  of  Exeter.  Upon  this  slight  foundation  of  art- 
instruction,  he  commenced  his  career  as  a  portrait  painter 
at  Plymouth  Dock.  After  the  death  of  his  father  in 
1746,  he  returned  to  London,  and  commenced  practice  in 
St.  Martin's  Lane.  In  1749  he  went  to  Italy  in  company 
with  the  Hon.  Mr.  Keppel,  his  early  friend  and  patron,  to 
whom  he  had  been  introduced  by  Lord  Mount-Edgcumbe. 
While  studying  the  works  in  the  Vatican  at  Eome,  he 
caught  a  severe  cold,  which  caused  the  painful  deafness 
to  which  he  was  subject  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
From  Eome  he  went  to  Florence,  Bologna,  Parma, 
Modena,  Milan,  Padua,  and  Venice  ;  and  thence  through 
Turin  to  Paris,  where  he  made  a  short  stay,  and  returned 
to  Plymouth  towards  the  end  of  1752.  This  journey  was 
judiciously  improved  by  the  thoughtful  student.  He 
copied  and  sketched  from  the  works  of  EafFaelle  and 
Michael  Angelo  in  some  of  their  more  striking  delinea- 
tions, but  chiefly  occupied  himself  in  examining  and  fixing 
in  his  mind  their  peculiar  and  characteristic  excellences ; 
for  he  was  more  intent  on  aspiring  to  their  conceptions, 
than  on  imitating  their  mode  of  execution.  The  rich 
effects  of  Venetian  tone  and  colour  were  especially  attrac- 
tive to  him,  far  more  so — as  his  practice  showed — than 
the  grandeur  of  the  Eoman  school. 

Shortly  after  his  return,  he  again  took  up  his  residence 
in  St.  Martin's  Lane,  in  a  house  facing  May's  Buildings. 
The  first  specimen  of  his  abilities  which  attracted  atten- 
tion was  a  portrait  of  Josep  Marchi,  a  young  Italian  whom 
he  had  brought  with  him  as  an  assistant  "from  Eome,  re- 
presented in  the  Turkish  costume,  richly  painted  in  the 
style  of  Eembrandt.  A  full-length  portrait  of  Admiral 
Keppel  standing  on  the  sea-shore,  which  he  painted  soon 
afterwards,  was  universally  admired,  and  established  his 
fame  as  the  first  portrait  painter  of  his  age  and  country. 
For  some  years  he  lived  in  a  house  in  Great  Newport 


Cn.  IV.]  SIE  J.  EEYNOLDS  75 

Street.  In  1761  he  purchased  a  house  in  Leicester 
Square  (or  Fields,  as  it  was  then  called),  for  his  collection 
of  works  of  art.  This  house  (No.  47)  was  filled  to  the 
remotest  corner  with  casts  from  the  antique,  statues,  pic- 
tures, drawings,  and  prints  by  the  various  masters  of  the 
foreign  schools.  These  he  looked  upon  as  his  library, 
with  this  advantage — that  they  decorated  as  well  as 
instructed — they  pleased  his  eye  and  informed  his  mind  ; 
they  were  objects  at  once  of  amusement,  study,  and  com- 
petition. Some  of  the  valuable  pictures  he  possessed  he 
destroyed  in  his  endeavour  to  discover  the  famous  "  Vene- 
tian secret  "  in  colouring.  In  this  house  he  lived  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  intimacy  between  Eeynolds  and  Dr.  Johnson  com- 
menced with  his  career  in  London,  and  only  ended  with 
the  death  of  the  latter.  To  this  friendship  we  probably 
owe  his  literary  efforts,  and  indeed  he  himself  owns  that 
Johnson  qualified  his  mind  to  think  justly,  even  on  art. 
The  report  circulated  after  his  death  that  either  Johnson 
or  Burke  aided  him  in  the  composition  of  his  discourses 
delivered  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  is  proved  to  be  erroneous 
alike  by  his  own  denial  of  it,  the  testimony  of  his  pupil 
Northcote,  and  the  fact  that  Dr.  Johnson  uttered  his  warm 
approval  of  them  publicly,  which  he  was  too  disingenuous 
to  have  done  had  he  taken  any  personal  part  in  their  pre- 
paration, beyond  having  given  to  their  author  advice  as  to 
amendments  or  alterations. 

In  1760  Reynolds  sent  four  pictures  to  the  exhibition 
in  Spring  Gardens,  and  the  following  year  exhibited  his 
portrait  of  Lord  Ligonier  on  horseback  (now  in  the  Na- 
tional Gallery),  and  one  of  Sterne.  In  1762  he  painted 
4  Garrick  between  Tragedy  and  Comedy,'  which  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Earl  of  Halifax  for  300  guineas.  In  1764 
Eeynolds  and  Johnson  instituted  the  Literary  Club,  which 
was  then  limited  to  twelve  members,  among  whom  were 
Oliver  Goldsmith  and  Edmund  Burke.  In  the  same 
year  Hogarth  died, — one  who  differed  as  much  in  theory 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

and  practice  from  his  opposite  neighbour  in  Leicester 
Fields,  as  he  did  in  disposition  and  tastes.  Eeynolds 
desired  to  bring  men  of  their  common  calling  together, 
and  by  study  and  co-operation  to  establish  for  them 
claims  to  respect  and  eminence.  Hogarth  opposed  all 
efforts  to  establish  such  an  academy,  and  stood  apart  and 
alone  from  his  brother  artists.  The  one  urged  the  con- 
stant study  of  the  old  masters,  the  other  would  hear  of 
no  school  but  that  of  nature ;  and  while  he  was  rough 
and  rude,  and  despite  his  good  nature  sometimes  antago- 
nistic and  obstinate,  the  other  was  able  to  smile  on  all, 
while  singling  out  some  few  for  especial  marks  of  warm 
and  gracious  regard.  His  own  nature  as  a  true  gentle- 
man shed  its  influence  over  his  portraits,  and  hence  their 
charm  and  his  eminent  success.  These  attributes  also  were 
in  themselves  an  additional  qualification  for  the  dignified 
position  he  attained  when,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he 
was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy. 
It  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  found  a  man  more 
eminently  qualified  for  the  position  among  the  artists  of 
Great  Britain  which  he  thus  attained.  Deeply  imbued 
with  the  loftiest  theories  of  art,  which  he  had  studied  at 
the  fountain-head  in  the  works  of  the  great  masters,  and 
himself  a  painter  of  rare  excellence,  Eeynolds  possessed  at 
the  same  time  literary  attainments  of  a  high  order,  which 
enabled  him  to  give  adequate  expression  to  whatever  he 
most  desired  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  the  students  of  art 
assembled  in  the  Academy,  and  a  disposition  so  courteous 
and  generous  as  to  secure  the  respect  and  affection  of  all 
those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded.  The  readers  of  John- 
son, Burke,  and  Goldsmith,  need  not  to  be  told  how  much 
he  was  beloved  and  revered  by  his  associates,  while  every 
succeeding  generation  owes  him  its  gratitude  for  pre- 
serving to  them  the  portraits  of  the  thoughtful  foreheads 
of  many  writers  and  statesmen  of  his  time,  and  the  sweet 
smiles  of  many  noble  matrons. 

To  deliver  lectures  was  no  part  of  the  duty  of  the 


CH.  IV.]  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS  77 

President  of  the  Royal  Academy ;  it  was  a  task  which  he 
imposed  upon  himself  in  his  zeal  for  the  advancement  of 
the  arts ;  and  the  fifteen  discourses  on  the  Principles  and 
Practice  of  Painting,  which  he  addressed  to  the  students 
at  the  annual  distribution  of  prizes,  have  been  translated 
into  several  languages,  and  continue  to  be  studied  for  the 
many  admirable  suggestions  and  criticisms  on  art  which 
they  contain. 

The  earlier  works  of  Eeynolds  did  not  possess  the  ex- 
cellences which  are  found  in  his  later  productions ;  but 
the  man  who  could  unite  to  the  dignified  resemblance 
of  the  head,  an  endless  variety  of  spirited  and  graceful 
attitudes,  picturesque  backgrounds,  novel  and  striking 
effects  of  light  and  shade,  and  a  rich  harmony  of  colour, 
was  at  every  stage  of  his  career  entitled  to  a  very  high 
place  as  an  artist.  He  was  one  of  the  few  whose  effort 
to  improve  ended  but  with  his  life ;  he  was  heard  to  say 
that  he  never  began  a  picture  without  a  determination  to 
make  it  his  best ;  and  his  continued  advancement  justified 
the  maxim  he  was  so  frequently  inculcating,  "  that  nothing 
is  denied  to  well-directed  industry."  Johnson  used  to 
say  that  he  was  one  who  early  bore  down  all  opposition 
before  him,  and  left  emulation  panting  behind  him  ;  and 
that  while  securing  as  the  summit  of  human  felicity  the 
first  place,  he  was  not  spoilt  by  the  most  rare  and  en- 
viable prosperity  he  attained. 

In  1773  Sir  Joshua  painted  his  celebrated  picture  of 
4  Count  Ugolino  and  his  Sons,'  from  Dante,  which  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Duke  of  Dorset  for  400  guineas.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  created  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  by  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  about  the  same  period  he  was  also  elected  a 
member  of  the  Imperial  Academy  at  Florence.  In  1779 
he  ornamented  the  ceiling  of  the  library  of  the  Academy 
at  Somerset  Ilouse  with  an  allegorical  painting  represent- 
ing '  Theory  '  bearing  a  scroll  inscribed,  "  Theory  is  the 
knowledge  of  what  is  truly  nature."  In  the  summer  of 
1781,  with  a  view  of  examining  critically  the  works  of 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 

the  celebrated  masters  of  the  Flemish  and  Dutch  schools, 
he  made  the  tour  of  Holland  and  Flanders.  He  pub- 
lished an  account  of  this  journey,  containing  much  excel- 
lent criticism  on  the  works  of  Eubens,  Vandyke,  Eem- 
brandt,  &c.  in  the  churches  and  different  collections  at 
Antwerp,  Brussels,  Ghent,  Dusseldorff,  and  Amsterdam, 
concluding  with  a  masterly  drawn  character  of  Eubens. 
During  the  three  succeeding  years,  Sir  Joshua  was  en- 
gaged upon  his  designs  for  the  window  of  New  College 
Chapel,  Oxford.  These  consisted  of  seven  allegorical 
figures  of  the  four  Cardinal  and  the  three  Christian  graces, 
surmounted  by  the  '  Nativity.' 

In  1783,  in  consequence  of  the  suppression  of  some 
religious  houses,  he  again  visited  Flanders,  purchased 
some  pictures  by  Eubens,  and  devoted  several  more  days 
to  the  contemplation  and  further  investigation  of  the 
works  of  that  master.  In  the  same  year,  Mr.  Mason's 
translation  of  "  Du  Fresney's  Art  of  Painting  "  was  pub- 
lished, with  notes  subjoined  by  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  practical  observations  and  explanations 
of  the  rules  laid  down  by  the  author  of  the  poem.  These 
works,  his  Academy  Lectures,  three  contributions  at  an 
earlier  period  to  Johnson's  "  Idler,"  and  a  few  notes  to 
his  friend's  edition  of  Shakspeare,  constitute  the  whole  of 
his  literary  productions.  In  1784  he  painted  the  famous 
allegorical  portrait  of  '  Mrs.  Siddons  as  the  Tragic  Muse,' 
which  was  sold  to  Mr.  Smith  for  700  guineas.  In  the 
same  year,  upon  the  death  of  Allan  Eanisay,  he  was  ap- 
pointed principal  painter  in  ordinary  to  the  King,  in  which 
office  he  continued  till  his  death.  In  1786  he  painted 
the  c  Infant  Hercules  strangling  the  serpents  in  the  cradle,' 
for  the  Empress  Catherine  of  Eussia.  It  was  sent  to  St. 
Petersburg  in  1789,  and  in  the  following  year  the  Eussian 
Ambassador  presented  him  with  a  gold  box  having  the 
portrait  of  the  Empress  upon  the  lid,  set  with  large 
diamonds.  Fifteen  hundred  guineas  were  afterwards  paid 
to  his  executors  as  the  price  of  this  picture.  For  Boydell's 


CH.  IV.]  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS  79 

Shakspeare  Gallery  he  painted  three  pictures,  — '  The 
cauldron  scene  in  Macbeth,'  'Puck,  from  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream,'  and  '  The  death  of  Cardinal  Beaufort.' 

From  the  year  1769  to  1790  inclusive,  Eeynolds  sent  no 
less  than  244  pictures  to  the  exhibition  of  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy. Besides  'the  Holy  Family' and 'Lord  Ligonier,' 
already  referred  to,  there  are  several  other  pictures  by  him 
in  the  National  Collections :  '  The  Graces  decorating  a 
figure  of  Hymen ; '  '  The  Infant  Samuel ; '  '  Heads  of 
Angels  ;'  '  The  Age  of  Innocence  ;'  '  The  banished  Lord  ;'  a 
study  for  '  Count  Ugolino  ;'  and  portraits  of  himself,  Lord 
Heathfield,  Et.  Hon.  W.  Wyndham,  Sir  W.  Hamilton,  and 
Sir  A.  Hume. 

His  assiduity  and  love  for  his  profession  left  him  little 
leisure ;  and  his  whole  life,  to  the  time  when  his  sight 
failed,  was  passed  in  the  diligent  and  unwearied  pur- 
suit of  his  art,  at  once  his  business  and  his  pleasure, 
uninterrupted  by  sickness  or  misfortune.  The  hours  ne- 
cessary for  relaxation  were  chiefly  spent  in  the  company 
of  his  numerous  friends  and  acquaintance ;  these  were 
gathered  around  him  as  well  on  system  as  from  inclina- 
tion ;  for  finding  that  his  professional  pursuits  debarred 
him  the  regular  and  ordinary  modes  of  study,  he  adopted 
this  as  an  agreeable  method  of  gaining  at  the  same  time 
knowledge  and  amusement.  Hence,  at  his  table,  for  above 
thirty  years,  were  occasionally  assembled  all  the  men  of 
taste,  talent,  and  genius  of  the  kingdom  —  men  who  were 
remarkable  for  their  attainments  in  literature  or  the  arts, 
in  the  pulpit  or  the  bar,  in  the  senate  or  the  field. 

For  many  years  Sir  Joshua  enjoyed  uninterrupted  good 
health,  to  which  his  habit  of  standing  while  painting  may 
have  in  some  degree  contributed.  In  1782,  he  was 
afllicted  by  a  paralytic  stroke,  from  which  he  quickly  re- 
covered;  but  in  July  1789,  while  engaged  in  painting 
his  portrait  of  the  Marchioness  of  Hertford,  he  found  his 
sight  so  much  affected  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could 
proceed  with  his  work  ;  and  notwithstanding  every  assis- 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  I\\ 

tance  that  could  be  procured,  he  was  in  a  few  months 
totally  deprived  of  the  use  of  his  left  eye.  After  many 
struggles,  lie  resolved,  lest  his  remaining  eye  should  suffer, 
to  paint  no  more  ;  and  though  he  was  thus  deprived  of  a 
constant  and  engrossing  amusement,  he  retained  his  usual 
spirits,  and  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  friends  with  the 
same  apparent  pleasure  as  before.  In  October  1791, 
however,  his  spirits  began  to  fail  him,  and  he  became 
alarmed  lest  an  inflamed  tumour,  which  came  over  the 
eye  which  was  lost,  might  occasion  the  destruction  of  the 
other  also.  A  disease,  which  he  could  neither  describe 
nor  point  out  to  physicians,  was  secretly  gathering  strength ; 
and  it  was  only  a  fortnight  before  his  death  that  he  dis- 
covered that  the  liver  had  attained  such  an  inordinate 
growth  as  to  incommode  all  the  functions  of  life.  After 
a  confinement  of  three  months,  and  an  illness  which  he 
bore  with  great  patience  and  fortitude,  he  died  at  his 
house  in  Leicester  Fields,  on  Thursday  evening,  the 
23rd  of  February,  1792.  His  body  was  laid  in  state 
at  the  Academy  at  Somerset  House  till  the  3rd  of 
March,  when  it  was  interred  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  near  the  tomb  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  On 
this  mournful  occasion,  every  honour  was  paid  that  could 
be  shown  to  worth  and  genius ;  a  great  number  of  dis- 
tinguished persons  joined  the  funeral  procession,  and  his 
pall  was  supported  by  three  dukes,  two  marquises,  and 
five  other  noblemen.  Some  years  afterwards,  a  statue,  by 
Flaxman,  was  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  cathedral. 

In  stature,  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  was  rather  under  the 
middle  size,  of  a  florid  complexion,  with  blunt  features, 
possessing  a  lively,  pleasing  aspect.  His  manner  was 
particularly  polished  and  agreeable,  and  he  possessed  a 
constant  flow  of  spirits,  which  enabled  him  in  society  to 
find  amusement  readily,  and  easily  to  contribute  to  the 
entertainment  of  others.  Though  he  had  been  almost 
deaf  from  the  time  of  his  return  from  Italy,  yet,  by  the 
aid  of  an  ear-trumpet,  he  was  enabled  to  participate  in 


CH.  IV.]  SIE  J.  REYNOLDS  81 

the  conversation  of  his  friends  with  great  facility.1  He 
was  never  married,  and  bequeathed  the  principal  por- 
tion of  his  property,  which  amounted  to  £80,000,  to  his 
niece,  Miss  Palmer,  who  was  shortly  afterwards  married 
to  the  Earl  of  Inchiquin,  subsequently  created  Marquis  of 
Thomond.  His  collection  of  works  of  art  sold  for  about 
£17,000.  It  has  been  stated  that  shortly  before  his  death, 
Sir  Joshua  offered  these  examples  of  excellence  in  art,  at 
a  very  low  price,  to  the  Eoyal  Academy,  on  the  condition 
that  they  should  purchase  a  gallery  for  their  reception ; 
but  the  records  of  the  Academy  do  not  show  that  such  a 
proposal  was  ever  made. 

Reynolds  has  been  justly  regarded  as  the  founder  of 
the  British  School  of  Painting.  Through  a  happy  com- 
bination, and  a  judicious  and  skilful  application  of  qualities, 
whether  originating  in  natural  feeling  or  acquired  by 
selection  from  other  artists,  he  struck  out  a  new  path  in 
portrait  painting ;  and  by  uniting  graceful  composition 
and  breadth  of  light  and  shade  with  a  rich  and  mellow 
tone  of  colouring,  he  invented  a  style  of  his  own.  The 
portraits  by  his  master,  Hudson,  and  by  Eamsay,  who 
enjoyed  the  highest  public  patronage  when  Sir  Joshua 
returned  from  his  travels,  were  uniformly  dry  and  hard, 
with  little  diversity  of  attitude,  following  strictly  the 
formal  fashion  then  prevailing,  and  wanting  individual 
expression.  Reynolds,  with  a  more  comprehensive  view 
of  his  art,  by  originality  in  taste  and  facile  execution, 
showed  how  portraiture  might  be  generalised,  so  as  to 
identify  the  individual  man  with  the  dignity  of  the  human 
mind.  In  dress,  he  selected  and  adopted  what  was  most 
conformable  to  the  character  of  his  subject,  without  im- 
plicitly following  or  offending  the  prejudices  then  preva- 

1    An   nllnainn    to   tllifl   infirmity  18  Illi  pencil  wa§  rtriklng,  roUllew.  and  grand  : 

An   IU11  18  .,,,!•,  i  IIU  manner*  were  Kei.tle.ci.mi.l.vii.K, and  bland  | 

found    in  Oliver   Goldsmith  H   Kindly  Still  born  to  Improve  ...  In  every  part. 

..       *  i.       •  •    _j     •_    v;_    ,  Ili«  iicncil  our  fare*.  h!»  mani.cn  our  heart : 

epitaph  on  his  fnend  in  oil  pot-in         To  COJtcornb.  mvcrie%  ..ct  m<-t  civilly  •icermg^- 

"   Retaliation."  the  last  production  Of  When  they  Judgtd  without  .kill  he  wat  .lill  hard 

.  of  hearing  : 

1118  gifted  pen  : When  they  talked  of  their  Kaffkcllef,  Correggiot, 

"SWsrttirir&tt^aK? mlnd- 

VOL.  I.  G 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IV. 

lent.  His  female  portraits  are  designed  with  an  exquisite 
feeling  of  taste  and  elegance ;  and  for  the  variety  of  com- 
position manifest  in  his  works,  we  shall  in  vain  seek  for  a 
parallel  among  his  most  celebrated  predecessors.  In  the 
pursuit  of  those  high  attainments  to  which  he  arrived,  he 
evidently  had  Eembrandt  and  Correggio  more  particularly 
in  his  mind ;  but  the  magical  effect  and  richness  of  co- 
louring of  the  great  Dutch  masters  seem  to  have  been 
made  by  him  a  constant  source  of  reflection  and  experi- 
ment. 

In  the  higher  department  of  historical  painting,  he 
cannot  be  said  to  hold  the  same  pre-eminence,  although 
his  works  of  this  kind  display  great  strength  of  mind ; 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  his  occupation  as  a  portrait- 
painter  did  not  enable  him  to  cultivate  this  style  in  pre- 
ference. His  '  Count  Ugolino,'  for  pathos  and  grandeur 
of  design,  yields  perhaps  to  no  composition  that  was  ever 
made  upon  that  subject ;  and  his  '  Holy  Family,'  when 
considered  with  it,  will  serve  to  exhibit  at  one  view  the 
comprehensiveness  and  diversity  of  his  genius.  Drawing, 
as  he  candidly  confessed,  was  the  branch  of  his  art  in 
which  he  was  most  defective ;  and  sometimes,  from  not 
being  able  to  determine  his  forms,  he  was  obliged  to  go 
again  over  the  same  part  of  the  picture,  till  some  of  the 
vivacity  of  his  touch  was  lost ;  but  the  spirit  and  sweet- 
ness of  that  touch  was  so  admirable  that  he  added  force 
and  harmony  to  his  picture  by  every  repetition.  Colour- 
ing was  evidently  his  first  excellence,  to  which  all  others 
were  more  or  less  sacrificed ;  and  though  in  splendour 
and  brilliancy  he  was  exceeded  by  Eubens  and  Paul 
Veronese,  in  force  and  depth  by  Titian  and  Eembrandt, 
and  in  freshness  and  truth  by  Velasquez  and  Vandyke, 
yet  perhaps  he  possessed  a  more  exquisite  combination  of 
all  these  qualities,  and  that  peculiarly  his  own,  than  is 
to  be  found  in  the  works  of  any  of  those  celebrated 
masters.  Hence  it  is  that,  though  a  few  works  executed 
by  him  may  be  deemed  exceptionable,  the  majority  of 


CH.  IV.]  EDWARD  PENNY  83 

his  productions  will  never  fail  to  excite  admiration  so  long 
as  the  true  principles  of  art  are  properly  estimated. 


Next  to  the  president,  the  first  Professors  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  claim  our  notice.  These  were — EDWAED  PENNY, 
the  Professor  of  Painting ;  THOMAS  SANDBY,  Professor  of 
Architecture ;  SAMUEL  WALE,  Professor  of  Perspective ;  and 
DR.  WILLIAM  HUNTEE,  Professor  of  Anatomy. 

EDWAED  PENNY,  E.A.,  was  for  some  time  previously  to 
his  appointment  Vice-Presiderit  of  the  Incorporated  Society 
of  Artists.  He  was  born  at  Knutsford,  in  Cheshire,  in 
1714  ;  and  early  indicating  a  taste  for  painting,  was  sent 
to  London,  and  placed  under  the  tuition  of  Hudson,  the 
master  of  Eeynolds.  Subsequently  he  proceeded  to 
Eome,  and  there  studied  under  the  direction  of  Marco 
Benefiali.  His  principal  employment  was  as  a  portrait- 
painter,  his  small  heads  in  oil-colour  being  very  much 
admired.  Besides  these  labours — the  one  branch  of  the 
art  needful  for  painters  to  obtain  subsistence  in  those 
days — he  employed  his  skill  upon  historical  and  senti- 
mental subjects,  many  of  which  were  exhibited  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy.  Some  of  his  chief  works  of  this  de- 
scription were  engraved — among  others,  the  'Death  of 
General  Wolfe' — the  'Marquis  of  Granby  relieving  a  sick 
Soldier' — and  'Virtue  and  Profligacy  Contrasted  '  in  two 
pictures.  As  Professor  of  Painting  at  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
he  delivered  an  annual  series  of  lectures,  which  were 
favourably  received.  In  1783  his  health  declined,  and 
he  was  in  consequence  compelled  to  resign  his  professor- 
ship. He  had,  prior  to  this  time,  married  a  lady  of  pro- 
perty ;  and  he  now  took  up  his  abode  at  Chiswick,  and 
lived  in  quiet  retirement  till  he  died,  on  the  15th  No- 
vember, 1791.  He  frequently  expressed  his  intention  of 
printing  the  ingenious  course  of  lectures  on  painting  he 
delivered  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  but  died  without  ful- 
filling it,  nor  has  the  MS.  since  been  sent  to  the  press. 

o  2 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 

THOMAS  SAXDBY,E.A.,  the  first  Professor  of  Architecture 
at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  was  born  at  Nottingham  in  1721, 
and  is  said  to  have  had  his  thoughts  first  directed  to  the 
arts  as  a  profession  by  having  perse veringly  pursued  a 
new  system  of  perspective,  which  he  brought  to  a  state 
of  great  perfection  and  readiness  of  application.  En- 
couraged by  the  reputation  he  acquired  by  a  drawing  of 
his  native  town  made  upon  these  novel  rules,  he  came  to 
London,  and  was  in  1743  appointed  draughtsman  to  the 
chief  engineer  in  Scotland.  In  this  capacity  he  was  at 
Fort  William,  in  the  Highlands,  when  the  Pretender 
landed,  and  was  the  first  person  who  conveyed  intelli- 
gence of  the  event  to  Government  in  1745.  In  recogni^ 
tion  of  his  merits  as  an  artist,  and  his  services  to  the 
State,  H.  E.  H.  William  Duke  of  Cumberland  appointed 
him  his  peculiar  draughtsman ;  and  after  the  termination 
of  the  struggle  in  Scotland,  he  followed  the  Duke  in  his 
campaigns  in  Flanders. 

In  1746  he  was  made  Deputy-Hanger  of  Windsor 
Great  Park,  an  appointment  which  he  held  for  fifty-two 
years.  In  this  capacity,  combined  with  his  professional 
position  as  architect  to  the  King,  he  planned  in  1754  the 
construction  of  the  Virginia  Water,  the  largest  artificial 
lake  in  the  kingdom,  and  shortly  afterwards  published  a 
series  of  eight  folio  views,  illustrating  the  improvements 
and  alterations  in  Windsor  Great  Park  effected  by  his 
labours.  In  1755  he  was  one  of  the  committee  of  artists 
who  combined  to  propose  a  plan  for  the  foundation  of  a 
public  academy  for  the  cultivation  of  the  arts.  Subse- 
quently he  joined  the  Incorporated  Society,  and  was 
eventually  chosen  one  of  the  foundation  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  ;  and  as  the  Professor  of  Architecture, 
he  continued  annually,  until  1796,  to  deliver  lectures  on 
architecture  at  the  Academy,  largely  illustrated  by  his 
own  drawings.  These  lectures  were  never  published ; 
but  the  original  manuscript  was  presented  by  the  late 
John  Britton  to  the  library  of  the  Eoyal  Institute  of 


CH.  IV.]  THOMAS    SAXDBY  85 

British  Architects.  His  aim,  in  addressing  the  students, 
appears  to  have  been,  not  so  much  to  propound  new 
theories,  as  to  correct  the  false  taste  of  the  period :  to 
lay  down  the  simple  foundation  principles  of  the  art  as 
clearly  as  possible,  and  to  lead  the  young  architect  to  com- 
bine in  all  his  designs  utility  with  elegance,  and  harmony 
with  variety.  His  executors  offered  the  MS.  to  the  Eoyal 
Academy  for  publication ;  but  it  was  declined  by  the 
Council  on  the  ground  that  they  did  not  possess  sufficient 
funds  to  apply  so  large  a  sum  as  would  be  required  for 
the  purpose,  in  consequence  of  the  numerous  pictorial 
illustrations  he  had  introduced  in  them.  For  two  years 
preceding  his  death,  ill-health  rendered  him  unable  to 
deliver  his  lectures,  and  Edward  Edwards,  A.E.A.,  read 
them  for  him  from  1796  to  1798. 

A  large  number  of  his  drawings  are  in  the  Soane 
Museum,  the  print-room  of  the  British  Museum,  and  the 
royal  collection  at  Windsor  Castle,  and  display  both 
architectural  correctness  and  pictorial  taste.  Although 
the  water-colour  drawings  by  his  brother,  Paul  Sandby, 
are  well  known,  those  by  Thomas  Sandby,  which  excelled 
them  in  careful  and  exquisite  finish  of  all  the  details, 
and  equalled  them  in  general  artistic  eff6ct,  are  not 
regarded  as  they  deserve  to  be,  principally  because  he  is 
popularly  supposed  to  have  been  an  architect  only,  and 
because  he  exhibited  but  few  of  the  many  drawings  he 
made  during  his  long  and  active  life. 

Freemason's  Hall  in  London  was  built  from  his  design 
in  1775.  The  elaborately  carved  wainscoting  around 
the  altar  of  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  comprising  the 
arms  and  ensigns  of  the  original  Knights  of  the  Garter, 
and  many  sacramental  ornaments  and  symbols,  was  de- 
signed by  him ;  and  in  17C8  he  gained  the  first  prize  in 
the  competition  for  the  erection  of  the  Eoyal  Exchange 
in  Dublin  equally  with  Cooley ;  but  the  latter  being  an 
Irishman,  obtained  the  commission.  A  design  by  him 
for  an  ornamental  bridge  across  the  Thames  at  Somerset 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 

House,  which  he  introduced  in  one  of  his  lectures, 
attracted  great  attention  at  the  time ;  but  he  never  pro- 
posed that  a  bridge  should  be  erected  from  that  design, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  expense  which  would  have 
attended  its  construction.  He  died  at  the  Deputy-Ranger's 
Lodge,  in  Windsor  Great  Park,  on  the  25th  June,  1798, 
in  his  77th  year,  and  was  buried  at  Old  Windsor. 

SAMUEL  WALE,  E.A.,  appointed  Professor  of  Perspective, 
was  born  at  Yarmouth,  in  Norfolk,  and  was  first  instructed 
in  the  art  of  engraving  on  plate.  He  afterwards  studied 
design  in  the  St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy ;  and  as  a  painter 
imitated  the  style  of  Francis  Hayman.  He  executed 
several  decorative  pieces  for  ceilings,  a  style  of  ornamen- 
tation which  was  then,  after  many  years  of  favour,  about 
to  pass  away.  There  are  a  few  slight  etchings  preserved 
of  vignettes  by  him  from  his  own  designs.  His  chief 
employment  was  drawing  for  book-illustration,  the  greater 
number  of  his  designs  for  this  purpose  being  engraved 
with  great  spirit  by  Charles  Grignion.  Among  them  is  a 
series  of  illustrations  to  Izaac  Walton's  "  Angler."  He  de- 
signed the  frontispiece  for  the  first  exhibition  catalogue 
of  the  Society  of  Artists,  and  occasionally  painted  trades- 
men's signs.  One  of  his  most  famous  productions  of  this 
kind  was  a  full-length  portrait  of  Shakspeare,  which  hung 
across  the  road  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Little  Russell 
Street,  Drury  Lane,  and  which,  with  its  elaborate  frame,  is 
said  to  have  cost  £500.  His  drawings,  as  exhibited  at  the 
Royal  Academy,  were  described  as  "  stained  or  washed 
drawings,"  being  careful  outlines  slightly  coloured,  which 
were  then  the  feeble  representatives  of  our  modern  water- 
colour  school.  His  subjects  were  generally  taken  from 
early  English  history. 

In  addition  to  these  works,  he  acquired  a  good  know- 
ledge of  architecture  and  perspective,  and  greatly  as- 
sisted Mr.  Gwynn  in  the  decoration  of  his  architectural 
drawings,  particularly  in  the  section  of  St.  Paul's,  and 


CH.  IV.]  SAMUEL  WALE— DR.  HUNTER  87 

was  of  service  to  him  in  the  literary  part  of  his  publi- 
cations. This  qualified  him  for  the  office  to  which  he 
was  appointed  on  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
as  its  first  professor  of  Perspective.  From  a  natural 
timidity  of  disposition,  he  is  said  to  have  exhibited, 
in  delivering  his  lectures,  a  painful  diffidence  in  the  com- 
munication of  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  which  he  so 
thoroughly  understood — a  not  uncommon  result  of  a  man 
late  in  life  being  called  upon  to  appear,  for  the  first  time, 
as  a  public  instructor.  Latterly,  on  account  of  ill-health, 
he  was  unable  to  attend  to  his  public  duties  in  the 
Academy,  and  instructed  the  students  by  giving  private 
lessons  on  perspective  at  his  own  house.  His  successor, 
Edwards,  was  also  a  teacher  and  not  a  lecturer  on  perspec- 
tive, a  course  of  twenty  lessons  being  thought  more  useful 
than  a  series  of  six  lectures.  On  the  death  of  Richard 
Wilson  in  1782,  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as 
librarian,  and  lie  held  both  offices  till  he  died  on  the  6th 
of  February,  1786,  in  Little  Court,  Castle  Street,  Leicester 
Fields. 

Of  Dr.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  the  Professor  of  Anatomy,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  speak.  The  elder  brother  of  the 
famous  John  Hunter,  he  was  scarcely  inferior  to  him  in 
science,  and  was  also  a  good  scholar,  a  clear  and  elegant 
writer,  and  an  accomplished  gentleman.  In  1765  he 
offered  to  expend  £7000  to  found  an  anatomical  school  in 
London,  if  the  Government  would  grant  a  site  for  it ;  but 
his  munificent  intention  was  not  carried  out.  How  much 
his  lectures  on  anatomy  at  the  Royal  Academy  conduced 
to  the  instruction  of  the  students  in  art,  we  may  infer  from 
the  value  of  the  information  which  such  a  man  was  able 
to  give  on  all  the  details  of  the  structure  of  the  human 
form. 

Passing  from  the  professors  to  the  general  members  of 
the  Academy,  we  proceed  to  notice  the  historical  painters, 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IV. 

excluding  for  the  present  BENJAMIN  WEST,  whose  career 
we  shall  have  to  trace  at  a  later  period  of  this  history. 
F.  Bartolozzi,  G.  B.  Cipriani,  A.  Kauffman,  and  F. 
Hayman,  are  of  this  number ;  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  last-named,  were  foreigners  domiciled  in  England  for 
some  time  prior  to  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy. 

£ EANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Florence,  on 
the  21st  of  September,  1728,  and  was  the  son  of  Gaetana 
Bartolozzi,  a  goldsmith  and  filagree- worker.  He  received 
his  first  instruction  in  drawing  from  Hugfort  Ferretti,  in 
the  Florentine  Academy,  where  his  acquaintance  with 
Cipriani  commenced.  He  was  taught  engraving  by  Joseph 
Wagner  of  Venice,  and  when  the  term  of  his  engagement 
with  that  master  had  expired,  he  married  a  Venetian  lady 
and  went  to  Rome,  whither  he  had  been  invited  by 
Cardinal  Bottari.  Here  he  established  his  reputation  by 
his  fine  plates  from  the  life  of  St.  Nilus,  and  by  a  series  of 
portraits  for  a  new  edition  of  "  Vasari."  Having  completed 
these  works  he  returned  to  Venice,  where  he  was  engaged 
by  Mr.  Dalton,  the  librarian  to  King  George  III.,  to  engrave 
a  set  of  drawings  by  Guercino.  Both  by  the  artist  and 
the  amateur  these  etchings  are  regarded  as  among  the 
most  valuable  of  his  works.  In  the  imitation  of  these 
drawings,  as  well  as  of  every  other  artist's  performance 
that  came  under  the  power  of  his  burin,  Bartolozzi  gave  a 
character  of  beauty  and  sweetness  perhaps  beyond  the 
prototype.  On  the  completion  of  this  work,  Mr.  Dalton 
invited  him  to  England,  to  continue  engraving  for  the  King 
on  a  stipend  of  £300  per  annum,  and  Bartolozzi  readily 
accepted  the  offer.  Some  of  his  earliest  performances 
after  his  arrival  in  this  country,  were  designs  for 
tickets  for  the  select  performances  at  the  Opera  House, 
cards  for  balls  and  other  amusements,  many  of  which 
were  executed  gratuitously,  and  as  marks  of  his  kindness 
and  regard.  Miss  Banks,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  made  a  collection  of  these  etchings,  and  presented 


Cn.  IV.]  FRANCESCO   BARTOLOZZI  89 

them  to  the  British  Museum.  He  evinced  so  much  talent 
in  these  limited  subjects,  and  won  so  much  popularity  by 
them,  as  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  the  celebrated  engraver, 
Sir  Eobert  Strange,  who  ungraciously  pronounced  him  in- 
capable of  executing  anything  else.  It  was  quickly  shown 
how  untrue  the  assertion  was,  for  Bartolozzi  immediately 
commenced  his  engraving  of  '  Clytia,'  after  Annibal 
Carracci ;  and  that  of  '  The  Virgin  and  Child,'  after 
Carlo  Dolci.  These  plates  are  well  known,  and  are  in 
the  highest  degree  brilliant  and  spirited.  Before  the 
appearance  of  the  former  of  these  works,  Strange's  en- 
graving of  'The  Sleeping  Cupid,'  after  Guido,  had 
attracted  great  attention,  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
finest  examples  of  English  line-engraving.  On  completing 
his  '  Clytia,'  Bartolozzi  felt  that  he  was  entering  into  com- 
petition with  this  artist,  for  he  is  reported  to  have  said, 
"Let  Strange  beat  that  if  he  can."  Among  the  larger 
works  of  Bartolozzi  in  the  same  style,  the  '  Venus,  Cupid, 
and  Satyr,'  after  Giordano,  and  the  '  Silence '  of  Correggio, 
are  celebrated  as  very  beautiful  specimens  of  his  talent  and 
execution.  By  some  his  '  Diploma '  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
has  been  thought  his  best  work,  and  is  by  all  acknow- 
ledged to  be  beautifully  executed  as  a  line  engraving.  It 
was  rather  as  an  eminently  skilful  designer,  than  as  a 
painter,  that  Bartolozzi  was  nominated  as  a  member  of  the 
lloyal  Academy,  for  his  ability  as  an  engraver  would  not 
alone  have  entitled  him  to  a  place  among  them  under  the 
instrument  of  institution.1  It  was  right  that  it  was  so  : 
for  to  denominate  him  a  mere  engraver,  would  be  unjust 
to  one  who  not  only  attained  the  power  of  imitating  the 
works  of  others  to  perfection,  but  possessed  in  himself  a 
refined  taste,  and  great  skill  in  portraying  the  conceptions 
of  his  own  mind. 


1  Strange    states  that   Bartolozzi  were  exhibited  by  him  at  the  Royal 

was   persuaded  to  exhibit  a  Hinjrlo  Academy   during    successive   years, 

drawing  to  qualify  himself  fur  mum-  the   statement  requires   no   further 

but   as    several   drawings  contradiction. 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IV. 

At  this  time  he  engraved  a  large  number  of  the  paint- 
ings and  drawings  of  his  early  friend  Cipriani,  who  had 
likewise  settled  in  England.  These,  as  they  mostly  exhi- 
bited the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  human  form,  gave  him 
the  opportunity  of  displaying  his  taste  and  the  rich  charac- 
ter of  his  style,  in  a  higher  degree  than  works  which  re- 
quired greater  variety  and  closer  imitation.  In  these 
productions  the  styles  of  the  painter  and  engraver  har- 
monise admirably,  grace  and  refinement  are  the  character- 
istics of  each ;  and  their  works  for  a  considerable  time 
held  almost  unrivalled  possession  of  the  public  favour. 
The  only  objection  urged  against  them  is  that  they 
exhibit  a  certain  excess  of  softness  and  finish  incompatible 
with  vigour.  One  of  the  earliest  patrons  of  Bartolozzi 
was  Alderman  Boydell,  for  whose  Shakspeare  gallery  he 
engraved  a  number  of  fine  plates.  Frontispieces  and 
book-prints  appeared  in  rapid  succession  from  his  hand, 
and  during  a  long  life  he  seems  to  have  been  incessantly 
at  work;  but  like  many  others  in  his  profession,  who 
earned  sufficient  to  supply  all  their  wants,  Bartolozzi 
made  no  provision  for  any  but  the  passing  hour.  Hence 
it  frequently  happened  that  he  was  compelled  to  resort  to 
a  variety  of  expedients  to  replenish  his  resources.  Chalk 
engravings,  after  the  caricaturist  Bunbury,  and  other  sub- 
jects not  possessing  the  higher  qualities  of  art,  for  this 
reason  frequently  engaged  his  time  ;  and  his  studio  thus 
became  a  manufactory  for  plates  of  a  very  inferior  style 
of  art.  Notwithstanding  these  casualties  in  his  practice, 
Bartolozzi,  during  his  residence  in  England,  did  much  to 
raise  the  standard  of  our  school  of  engravers  and  de- 
signers. He  met  with  general  encouragement,  and  em- 
ployment sufficiently  remunerative  to  have  enabled  him  to 
provide  amply  for  his  latter  days.  Having  long  held  the 
appointment  of  engraver  to  King  George  IH.,  late  in  life  a 
pension  was  offered  to  him,  which,  however,  he  declined. 
In  1802  he  received  an  invitation  from  the  Prince  Eegent 
of  Portugal  to  settle  at  Lisbon,  to  superintend  a  school  of 


On.  IV.]  G.  B.  CIPRIANI  01 

engravers.  There  he  met  with  all  the  respect  due  to  his 
talents,  and  received  the  honour  of  knighthood.  He  was 
of  a  kind  and  generous  disposition,  and  gladly  promoted 
the  success  of  others.  He  had  many  pupils,  some  of 
whom  rose  to  eminence  in  their  profession.  He  died  at 
Lisbon  in  1815,  in  the  88th  year  of  his  age. 

GIOVANNI  BAPTISTA  CIPRIANI,  R A.,  whose  name  we  have 
already  mentioned,  in  connection  with  his  friend  Bartolozzi, 
was  descended  from  an  ancient  Tuscan  family  of  Pistoria, 
and  was  born  at  Florence,  in  1727.  He  received  his 
first  instruction  in  art  from  Heckford,  an  Englishman 
residing  there,  and  also  studied  the  works  of  Gabbiani,  a 
Florentine  painter  of  the  period.  His  first  works  are  in 
the  Abbey  of  St.  Michael-on-the-Sea,  at  Pelago.  He 
studied  for  three  years  at  Eome,  and  in  1755,  he  accompa- 
nied Sir  William  Chambers  from  thence  to  England,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  lived  in  a  house 
in  Hedge  Lane,  near  Charing  Cross.  When  the  Duke  of 
Richmond  opened  his  Gallery  of  Sculpture,  Cipriani,  and 
Wilton  the  sculptor,  were  appointed  to  direct  the  students, 
and  the  former  instructed  the  painters,  while  the  latter 
guided  the  sculptors.  He  painted  the  designs  on  the 
panels  of  the  magnificent  state-coach,  used  by  George  III. 
for  the  first  time,  on  the  15th  of  November,  1762. 

On  the  institution  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  having  been 
nominated  by  the  King  as  one  of  its  members,  he  was 
directed  to  make  the  design  for  the  Diploma,  and  was 
presented  with  a  silver  cup  by  the  Academy,  in  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  appreciation  of  his  services.  It  was, 
unfortunately,  stolen  from  his  son's  house,  ten  years  after 
his  own  death.1  He  executed  very  few  large  works  in 
painting ;  but  he  has  left  a  large  number  of  small  drawings, 


1  It  bore  the  following  inscription  :  Arts  in  London,  ns  nn  acknowledg- 

"  This   Cup   is   presented   to  J.   Jt.  inent  for  the  assistance  the  Academy 

Cipriani,  It. A.,  by  the  President  and  has  received  from  his  great  abilities 

Council  of  the  'lloyal  Academy  of  iu  his  profession." 


92  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IV. 

which  are  greatly  admired  for  their  correctness  of  form, 
fertility  of  invention,  and  harmonious  colouring,  and  are 
well  known  by  the  exquisite  engravings  made  from  them 
by  Bartolozzi.  After  he  came  to  this  country,  Cipriani 
married  an  English  lady,  of  moderate  fortune,  by  whom 
he  had  three  children.  Fuseli  said  of  him  that  the  facility 
of  his  invention,  the  graces  of  his  composition,  and  the 
seductive  elegance  of  his  forms,  were  only  surpassed  by 
the  probity  of  his  character,  the  simplicity  of  his  manners, 
and  the  benevolence  of  his  heart.  This  character  he  main- 
tained till  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Hammersmith, 
on  the  14th  of  December,  1785.  He  is  buried  at  Chelsea. 

MARIE  ANNE  ANGELIQUE  CATHERINE  KAUFFMAN,  E.A., 
one  of  the  two  ladies  who  were  honoured  by  nomination 
to  membership  with  the  Eoyal  Academicians,  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Swiss  portrait-painter,  Jean  Joseph  Kaufftnan, 
and  was  born  at  Coire,  the  capital  of  the  Grisons,  in  1742. 
She  acquired  the  first  principles  of  drawing  and  painting 
from  her  father,  whom  she  soon  excelled,  and  showed 
equal  facility  in  the  acquirement  of  a  knowledge  of  music. 
By  diligent  study  at  Milan,  Florence,  Eome  and  Naples, 
she  greatly  increased  her  skill  in  painting,  and,  in  1765, 
came  to  England,  in  company  with  Lady  Wentworth. 
Here  a  very  brilliant  reputation  had  already  preceded 
her,  through  the  eulogium  which  had  been  written  upon 
her  by  the  Abbe  Winckehnann ;  and  being  patronised  by 
royalty,  she  quickly  obtained  a  high  place  in  her  profession. 
Everywhere  her  talents,  her  charm  of  manner,  and  her 
beauty,  brought  her  panygeric,  and  created  an  enthusiasm 
of  admiration.  She  resided  at  first  with  her  patroness,  in 
Charles  Street,  Berkeley  Square,  and  afterwards  in  a  house 
she  took  in  Golden  Square,  where  she  was  joined  by  her 
father. 

During  a  residence  of  seventeen  years  in  this  country 
she  was  rewarded  both  by  honours  and  pecuniary  success  ; 
but,  unfortunately,  in  January  1769,  the  footman  of  the 


€H.  IV.]  ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN  93 

Count  Frederic  de  Horn,  of  a  noble  Swedish  family,  per- 
sonated his  master  in  his  absence,  and  imposed  so  sadly 
on  the  fair  painter  that  she  was  duped  into  a  marriage 
with  him.  As  soon  as  it  was  discovered,  he  was  forced 
to  sign  a  deed  of  separation,  by  which  he  agreed  to 
remain  abroad,  and  leave  his  wife  unmolested,  if  granted 
an  annuity.  Much  sympathy,  and  some  scandal,  were 
occasioned  by  this  unhappy  business ;  but  she  devoted 
herself  for  consolation  unceasingly  to  her  art.  As  soon 
as  she  received  tidings  of  the  death  of  this  worthless 
husband,  in  1782,  she  contracted  a  marriage  with  Antonio 
Zucchi,  a  Venetian  painter,  and  returned  with  him  and 
her  father  to  Eome.  This,  her  second  husband  died  in 
1795  ;  and  gradually  her  fame  and  success  declined  for 
several  years  before  her  death,  which  occurred  at  Eome, 
on  5th  of  November,  1805.  She  was  buried  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Andrea  delle  Frati,  her  funeral  being  con- 
ducted with  great  pomp  and  solemnity,  under  the  direction 
of  the  sculptor  Canova.  Dr.  Borsi,  of  Rome,  thus  wrote 
to  describe  the  last  honours  paid  to  her  memory : — 

"  The  church  was  decorated  in  the  manner  customary  on  the 
interment  of  those  of  noble  family.  At  ten  in  the  morning  the 
corpse  was  accompanied  to  the  church  by  two  very  numerous 
fraternities,  fifty  capuchins  and  fifty  priests.  The  bier  was 
carried  by  some  of  the  brotherhood,  and  the  four  corners  of  the 
pall  were  supported  by  four  young  ladies,  dressed  suitably  to 
the  occasion.  The  four  tassels  were  held  by  the  four  principal 
members  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke.  These  were  followed 
by  the  rest  of  the  academicians,  and  other  virtuosi,  each  one 
with  a  large  wax  taper,  lighted,  in  his  hand.  Two  pictures, 
painted  by  the  deceased,  completed  the  procession." 

She  made  several  etchings  from  her  own  works,  and 
many  of  her  most  admired  paintings  were  engraved  by 
Bartolozzi,  whose  beautiful  transcripts  of  her  productions 
have  contributed  greatly  to  the  growtli  and  perpetuity  of 
her  fame.  Her  representations  of  female  figures  are 
distinguished  for  an  air  of  grace,  purity,  tenderness,  and 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IV. 

elegance ;  but  her  male  impersonations  are  altogether 
devoid  of  character.  Her  designs  were  not  wanting  in 
classical  correctness,  nor  was  her  colouring  deficient  in 
mellow  and  harmonious  effects  ;  but  her  best  works  were 
her  graceful  female  portraits,  and  single  figures.  Her 
agreeable  manners,  and  many  accomplishments,  no  doubt 
contributed  towards  her  success  as  an  artist,  in  which 
capacity  her  powers  were  considerable,  although  not  of 
that  very  high  degree  which  some  would  assign  to  them. 
An  allegorical  picture  by  her  of  eleven  figures,  '  Eeligion 
attended  by  the  Virtues,'  is  in  the  National  Collection. 

FEANCIS  HAYMAN,  E.A.,  was  descended  from  a  respectable 
family  in  the  West  of  England,  and  was  born  at  Exeter 
in  1708.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Eobert  Brown,  the  portrait 
painter ;  and  coming  to  London  while  young,  was  much 
employed  as  a  scene-painter  by  Fleetwood,  the  proprietor 
of  old  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  with  whom  he  lived  on  terms 
of  great  intimacy,  and,  after  his  death,  married  his  widow. 
The  principal  productions  of  his  pencil  were  the  historical 
paintings  which  Tyers,  the  proprietor  of  Vauxhall,  em- 
ployed him  to  execute  for  the  decoration  of  some  of  the 
apartments  at  that  then  fashionable  place  of  amusement. 
His  painting  of  the  '  Finding  of  Moses '  was  presented  by 
him  to  the  Foundling  Hospital,  when  several  artists 
united  to  enrich  the  institution  by  gifts  of  their  works. 
He  also  furnished  designs  for  the  illustration  of  Sir 
Thomas  Hanmer's  edition  of  "  Shakspeare,"  and  for  the 
works  of  Milton,  Pope,  and  Cervantes. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Cipriani  he  was  regarded  as  the 
best  historical  painter  in  England,  and  was  elected  as 
President  of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists,  in  suc- 
cession to  Lambert,  but  was  excluded  from  the  office  in 
the  subsequent  dissensions. 

He  was  the  first  librarian  appointed  by  the  King  to  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  being  nominated  to  that  situation  in 
1770,  that  he  might  enjoy  its  emoluments  (small  as  they 


CH.  IV.]  F.  HAYMAN  —  F.  COTES  95 

were),  in  consequence  of  his  bodily  infirmities,  which  in 
the  evening  of  his  life  pressed  heavily  upon  him.  He 
died  at  his  house,  No.  42,  Dean  Street,  Soho,  on  the  2nd 
of  February,  1776,  having  long  been  a  martyr  to  the 
gout ;  yet  he  nevertheless  retained  to  his  last  hour  all  the 
volatility  of  youth,  and,  being  possessed  of  much  sterling 
sense,  an  agreeable  manner,  and  a  large  fund  of  good 
humour,  he  was  always  gladly  welcomed  in  society. 
As  an  artist,  he  seems  to  have  based  his  style  of  painting 
on  the  manner  of  the  old  English  school ;  and  although 
he  never  possessed  the  advantage  of  studying  the  works 
of  the  great  masters  at  Eome  or  elsewhere,  he  uniformly 
acknowledged  the  merits  of  Michael  Angelo,  Raphael, 
and  their  contemporaries,  and  defended  their  memory  by 
his  poignant  satire  against  the  attacks  of  Hogarth. 

The  portrait  painters  among  the  first  Royal  Academi- 
cians, who  next  claim  our  attention,  were  Francis  Cotes, 
Jeremiah  Meyer,  Mason  Chamberlin,  Peter  Toms,  Na- 
thaniel Hone,  F.  M.  Newton,  Nathaniel  Dance,  and  Thomas 
Gainsborough.  Of  the  latter,  however,  we  prefer  to  speak 
among  the  landscape  painters,  as,  although  occupying  a 
very  high  and  enviable  position  as  a  portrait  painter,  he 
seems  to  be  more  familiarly  associated  with  the  founders 
of  our  English  school  of  landscape  painting. 

FRANCIS  COTES,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  an  apothecary,  and 
was  born  in  Cork  Street,  London,  in  1725.  He  was  a  pupil 
of  George  Knapton,  and  is  chiefly  famous  for  his  crayon 
portraits,  which  are  unrivalled  for  truthfulness  and  beauty, 
and  in  which  style  Lord  Orford  compared  his  works  to 
those  of  Rosalba.  He  was  also  an  excellent  painter  in 
oil,  and  in  the  opinion  of  Hogarth  and  many  others,  his 
works  were  considered  equal  to  those  of  Sir  Joshua.  His 
portraits  are  full  of  truth,  grace,  and  beauty,  and  bear  a 
great  resemblance  to  those  of  Gainsborough  and  Reynolds, 
which  may  be  accounted  for  in  part  by  the  circumstance 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

that  he  and  they  alike  employed  the  same  artist,  Peter 
Toms,  to  paint  most  of  the  draperies  in  their  pictures. 
Among  his  best  works  were  a  full-length  of  Queen 
Charlotte  holding  the  Princess  Eoyal  on  her  lap,  engraved 
by  Eyland ;  Mrs.  Child,  of  Osterly  Park ;  Mrs.  Cotes ; 
Paul  Sandby  and  his  wife  (both  engraved  by  M'Ardell) ; 
Miss  Wilton,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  the  sculptor,  after- 
wards Lady  Chambers  ;  O'Brien,  the  comedian ;  and  some 
others  which  have  been  engraved  by  Bartolozzi,  M'Ardell, 
Green,  &c.  A  fine  specimen  of  his  talent  is  preserved  in 
the  council-room  of  the  Eoyal  Academy — a  portrait  of 
old  Mr.  Eobert  Cotes.  His  practice  was  both  extensive 
and  lucrative,  and  enabled  him  to  occupy  the  house  in 
Cavendish  Square,  which  was  subsequently  the  residence 
of  Eomney  and  Sir  M.  A.  Shee.  In  early  life  he  was 
afflicted  with  the  stone,  and  he  died  in  the  prime  of  life, 
somewhat  suddenly,  at  the  house  he  had  built  for  himself 
(No.  32  Cavendish  Square),  in  consequence  of  impru- 
dently taking  soap-lees  for  the  cure  of  his  disease,  on  the 
20th  of  July,  1770,  before  he  had  completed  his  forty- 
fifth  year.  He  was  buried  at  Eichmond,  in  Surrey. 

JEREMIAH  MEYER,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Tubingen,  in  Wir- 
temberg,  in  1739.  When  fourteen  years  old  he  came  to 
England  with  his  father,  and  studied  under  Frederick 
Zincke,  whose  miniatures  in  enamel  he  far  surpassed  by 
studying  the  works  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds.  In  1761  he 
obtained  the  prize  of  £20  for  the  best  drawing  of  a  pro- 
file of  the  King,  offered  by  the  Society  of  Arts  for  the 
purpose  of  having  a  die  engraved  from  it.  Afterwards  he 
was  appointed  miniature  painter  to  the  Queen,  and  enamel 
painter  to  King  George  III.  He  wrought  both  in  enamel 
and  water-colours,  and  especially  excelled  in  the  latter. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  old  St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy, 
until  the  Eoyal  Academy  was  instituted.  During  several 
years  he  lived  in  Covent  Garden,  but  latterly  at  Kew 
Green,  where  he  died  on  January  20th,  1789.  He  was 


CH.  IV.]  CHAMBERLIN— TOMS  97 

both  esteemed  as  an  artist,  and  highly  regarded  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends.  One  of  these,  Hayley  the  poet,  ad- 
dressed some  complimentary  lines  to  him  in  his  "  Essay  on 
Painting  "  (Ep.  ii.),  and  wrote  also  an  elegant  epitaph  after 
his  decease.  It  was  on  his  proposition  that  the  "  Pension 
Fund  "  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  was  established. 

MASON  CHAMBERLIN,  E.A.,  had  the  reputation  of  being 
very  successful  in  his  likenesses.  In  early  life  he  was 
employed  as  a  merchant's  clerk,  and  subsequently  studied 
painting  under  Hayman.  In  1764  he  gained  the  second 
premium  (when  Mortimer  won  the  first)  given  by  the 
Society  of  Arts  for  historical  painting.  He  resided,  when 
first  engaged  as  an  artist,  in  Spitalfields,  and  subsequently 
in  Bartlett's  Buildings,  Holborn.  His  portraits  of  Dr. 
Chandler,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Royal  Society,  and 
of  Dr.  William  Hunter,  in  the  Eoyal  Academy,  have  been 
engraved,  and  are  good  specimens  of  his  skill,  although  in 
all  his  works  there  was  a  great  monotony  in  the  tone  of 
colouring.  He  died  in  January  1787. 

PETER  TOMS,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  an  engraver,  and  a 
pupil  of  Hudson,  the  portrait  painter.  He  was  chiefly 
employed  while  in  London  in  painting  draperies  for  Sir 
Joshua  Eeynolds,  Francis  Cotes,  and  Gainsborough,  in 
which  he  was  especially  skilful.  Some  of  the  draperies 
in  Eeynolds'  best  whole-length  pictures  are  by  him.  His 
charge  for  painting  the  draperies,  hands,  &c.  of  a  whole- 
length  portrait  was  twenty  guineas  ;  for  a  three-quarter, 
three  guineas.  In  the  early  exhibitions  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  he  exhibited  an  allegorical  picture,  a  portrait, 
and  'The  Burdock,  and  other  Wild  Plants,' — a  specimen 
of  a  work  intended  to  be  published.  He  also  held  a 
situation  in  the  Heralds'  College  as  portcullis  pursuivant ; 
but  disliking  the  subordinate  employment  he  was  able 
to  obtain  as  an  artist  in  London,  he  went  to  Ireland  to 
practice  as  a  portrait  painter  in  the  suite  of  the  Duke  of 

VOL.  I.  II 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IV. 

Northumberland,  on  his  appointment  as  Lord-Lieutenant ; 
but,  unfortunately,  not  meeting  with  encouragement  in 
that  country,  he  returned  to  London,  and  after  the  death 
of  Cotes,  failing  to  obtain  employment,  he  became  melan- 
choly, drank  deeply,  and  put  an  end  to  his  unhappy  life 
in  the  latter  end  of  1776. 

NATHANIEL  HONE,  E.A.,  was  born  in  Dublin,  about  the 
year  1730.  He  was  almost  self-taught  as  an  artist,  and 
became  a  very  respectable  portrait  painter  both  in  oil  and 
miniature,  and  practised  enamelling  also  with  some  success. 
A  few  caricatures  are  also  in  existence  to  mark  his  ability 
in  that  line  of  art — one  engraved  in  mezzotinto  por- 
trayed two  monks  carousing ;  another,  called  the  '  Magi- 
cian,' represented  a  pictorial  conjuror  displaying  his 
cleverness  in  the  art  of  deceiving  the  sight.  It  was 
known  at  the  time  that  in  the  latter  Hone  intended 
to  charge  the  President  with  plagiarism  in  the  choice  of 
his  attitudes ;  and  being  followed  by  another  reflecting  on 

«/ 

Angelica  Kauffmann,  he  thus  gave  great  offence  to  the 
members  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  who  regarded  them  as 
an  unworthy  display  of  malice  and  littleness  of  mind  on 
the  part  of  one  of  their  own  number.  He  also  was  angry 
at  their  rejection,  and  made  in  1775  a  separate  exhibition 
of  some  sixty  or  seventy  of  his  paintings.  One  of  his 
best  portraits  was  .a  half-length  of  Sir  John  Fielding. 
Another  of  much  merit  was  his  own  likeness,  painted  in 
1782.  This  picture  was  presented  to  the  Eoyal  Academy 
by  Mr.  Archer  in  1808.  In  early  life  he  married  a  lady 
with  some  property.  When  he  first  settled  in  London  he 
resided  in  St.  James's  Place,  afterwards  in  Pall  Mall,  and 
latterly  in  Eathbone  Place,  where  he  died  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1784. 

FRANCIS  MILNEE  NEWTON,  E.A.,  has  already  been  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  efforts  made  to  establish  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  in  which  he  was  selected  to  fill  the  office 


CH.  IV.]  NEWTON— DANCE  99 

of  secretary,  the  duties  of  which  he  performed  until  1788, 
when  he  resigned  it.  From  1780  until  this  period  he 
occupied  apartments  allotted  to  him  in  Somerset  House. 
On  his  retirement  from  his  office  the  council  of  the  Royal 
Academy  presented  him  with  an  elegant  silver  cup  of  the 
value  of  eighty  guineas.  He  was  born  in  London  about 
the  year  1720,  and  was  a  pupil  of  M.  Tuscher.  He  found 
considerable  employment  as  a  portrait  painter,  to  which 
his  artistic  labours  were  confined.  From  early  life  he  was 
fortunate  in  having  friends  who  bequeathed  him  legacies, 
and  soon  after  retiring  from  the  secretaryship  he  became 
possessed  of  an  estate  at  Barton  House,  near  Taunton,  to 
which  he  retired,  and  died  there  on  the  14th  of  August, 
1794. 

NATHANIEL  DAXCE,  E.A.,  was  the  third  son  of  George 
Dance,  sen.,  who  was  the  architect  to  the  corporation  of 
London,  and  erected  the  Mansion  House,  and  the  churches 
of  St.  Botolph,  Aldgate,  St.  Luke,  and  St.  Leonard,  Shore- 
ditch.  He  was  born  in  London  in  1734,  and  having  shown 
an  early  inclination  for  painting,  he  was  placed  with  Francis 
Hayman,  under  whose  instruction  he  continued  until  he 
went  to  Italy,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  for  eight  or 
nine  years.  On  his  return  to  England  he  distinguished 
himself  as  a  painter  of  history  and  portraits,  and  also  exhi- 
bited several  excellent  landscapes.  He  occupied  the 
house  of  Zincke,  the  miniature  painter  (No.  13  Tavistock 
Row,  Covent  Garden),  afterwards  tenanted  by  Dr.  Wolcott, 
the  famous  "  Peter  Pindar."  His  pictures  of  Garrick  as 
*  Richard  HI.,'  '  Timon  of  Athens,'  and  '  Virginia,'  have 
been  engraved ;  and  many  of  his  portraits  now  pass  for 
those  of  Sir  J.  Reynolds.  In  his  profession  he  thus  ac- 
quired celebrity;  but,  unfortunately  for  art,  although 
luckily  enough  for  himself,  his  fine  figure  and  captivating 
address  won  for  him  the  hand  of  the  wealthy  Yorkshire 
heiress,  Mrs.  Dummer,  and  by  his  marriage  he  acquired 
an  income  of  £18,000  a  year.  On  forming  this  alliance 

H  2 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE    ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  TV. 

he  resigned,  on  November  1st,  1790,  his  seat  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  and  took  the  name  of  Holland  in -addition  to 
his  own,  became  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  was  made 
a  baronet  in  1800.  When  thus  retired  from  his  profes- 
sion and  elevated  in  social  position,  he  did  not  altogether 
relinquish  the  arts,  but  continued  as  an  amateur  to  exhibit 
landscapes  which  bore  testimony  to  his  taste  and  artistic 
skill.  He  died  very  suddenly  at  Winchester  on  the  15th 
of  October,  1811.  * 

Landscape  and  flower  painters  complete  the  number  of 
painters  (25),  among  the  foundation  members  of  the  Royal 
Academy.  These  were — George  Barret,  Charles  Catton, 
Paul  Sandby,  John  Eichards,  Dominic  Serres,  Eichard 
Wilson,  Thomas  Gainsborough,  Francis  ZuccarelJi,  John 
Baker,  and  Mary  Moser. 

GEORGE  BARRET,  E.  A.,  was  born  at  Dublin  in  1732,  and 
after  receiving  his  first  education  in  the  art  of  drawing  at 
Mr.  West's  academy  in  that  city,  he  commenced  his  career 
as  a  colourer  of  prints  for  a  printseller  named  Silcock. 
Though  recommended  by  his  friend  and  patf  on,  Edmund 
Burke,  to  study  pictures,  nature  was  his  prototype,  and  the 
beautiful  scenery  of  the  Dargles,  Powerscourt  Park,  the  seat 
of  another  of  his  patrons,  Earl  Powerscourt,  afforded  him 
the  best  objects  upon  which  to  exercise  his  talents  as  a 
landscape  painter.  While  in  Dublin  he  obtained  the 
£50  premium  from  the  Dublin  Society  for  the  best  land- 
scape. In  1761  he  came  to  London,  bringing  with  him 
two  pictures  he  had  painted  for  Lord  Powerscourt,  and 
which  were  so  highly  praised  by  the  visitors  to  the  exhi- 
bition in  Spring  Gardens  in  that  year/  that  he  quickly  at- 
tained a  high  rank  as  an  artist,  and  remunerative  employ- 
ment in  the  metropolis.  In  1764  he  gained  the  £50 
premium  from  the  Society  of  Arts,  being  the  first  prize 
given  by  them  for  the  best  landscape. 

When  he  became  a  member  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  he 


CH.  IV.]  BARRET  —  CATTON  101 

still  continued  eminently  successful,  and  had  no  difficulty 
in  obtaining  very  high  prices  (as  then  estimated)  for  his 
pictures ;  thus  it  is  stated  that  he  received  £1500  for 
three  pictures,  painted  by  him  for  Lord  Dalkeith,  at  a 
time  when  Wilson  with  difficulty  earned  a  bare  subsistence. 
So  imprudent  was  he,  however,  that  he  became  a  bankrupt, 
but  found  a  patron  in  Mr.  Locke,  who  employed  him  to 
paint  a  room  at  his  seat,  Norbury  Park,  in  Surrey,  which 
is  considered  to  be  Barret's  master-piece,  and  is  still  in 
good  preservation.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  was 
master-painter  to  Chelsea  Hospital,  an  appointment  which 
he  procured  through  his  friend  Burke.  He  died  at 
Westbourne  Green,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1784,  aged  fifty- 
two,  and  was  buried  at  Paddington.  His  landscapes  are 
bold  and  natural  in  design,  and  thoroughly  English  in 
their  manner ;  but  his  colouring  is  somewhat  peculiar  and 
heavy.  There  is,  however,  a  fresh  and  dewy  brightness 
in  his  verdure,  a  characteristic  of  English  scenery  which 
he  faithfully  depicted ;  he  was .  also  very  successful  in 
his  lake  scenes,  in  the  representation  of  the  dispersion 
of  the  mists  in  such  places,  and  in  his  aerial  perspective, 
and  flat  distances.  He  painted  much  in  water-colours, 
drew  well  in  chalks,  indian-ink,  and  black-lead,  and 
executed  a  few  etchings,  which  were  published  by  Boydell 
in  1773.  He  made  an  ample  income,  but  was  extravagant, 
and  left  his  family  and  descendants  chiefly  dependent  on 
the  aid  largely  afforded  to  them  by  the  Royal  Academy. 

CHARLES  CATTON,  R  A.,  was  born  at  Norwich  in  1728, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  thirty-five  children,  which 
his  father  had  by  two  wives.  In  his  youth  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  coach-painter  in  London,  named  Maxfield. 
Subsequently  he  became  a  member  of  the  St.  Martin's 
Lane  Academy,  and  there  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  human  figure.  In  1784  he  served  the  office  of 
Master  of  the  Company  of  Painter-stainers,  the  fraternity 
of  the  English  artists  in  olden  time.  Cornelius  Jansen  was 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

formerly  a  member  of  this  ancient  guild,  and  Inigo  Jones 
and  Vandyke  were  occasional  guests  at  their  annual 
feasts.  Catton  was  the  first  herald  painter  who  designed 
the  supporters  of  coats  of  arms  with  any  resemblance  to 
nature.  He  was  employed  also  in  painting  ornamental 
designs  for  coach-panels  ;  in  reference  to  which  Edwards 
observes  that  at  the  period  when  he  began  his  career  that 
employment  might  be  ranked  among  the  arts ;  but  that 
since  the  coachmakers  have  taken  into  their  own  hands 
the  decoration  of  carriages,  it  has  degenerated  into 
frivolity  and  meanness,  herald  painters  having  become 
their  journeymen.  Catton  was  appointed  his  Majesty's 
coach-painter.  The  works  exhibited  by  him  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  were  chiefly  landscapes,  but  occasionally  he 
painted  composition  pictures  and  animals.  He  retired 
from  his  profession  some  years  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  28th  of  September,  1798. 

PAUL  SANDBY,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Nottingham  in  1725, 
and  was  a  descendant  of  the  family  of  Sandby  of  Babworth 
in  that  county.  In  1746  he  came  to  London,  to  com- 
mence his  art-studies  at  the  drawing-school  at  the  Tower. 
Two  years  afterwards  he  was  employed  in  drawing  plans 
for  the  survey,  under  General  Watson,  of  the  Highlands, 
where  he  also  made  a  number  of  sketches,  which  he 
etched  and  published  in  1752.  A  series  of  drawings  of 
Windsor  and  Eton  afterwards  obtained  for  him  the 
patronage  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks ;  and  in  company  with 
him  and  the  Hon.  Charles  Greville,  he  made  a  tour 
through  Wales,  and  subsequently  dedicated  to  these  his 
fellow-travellers,  forty-eight  plates,  engraved  in  aquatinta 
by  himself,  from  the  drawings  he  then  made.  He  was 
the  first  English  artist  who  adopted  this  method  of  en- 
graving ;  and  in  some  of  his  views  of  the  '  Encampments 
in  the  Parks  in  1780,'  and  of  Windsor,  Eton,  and  the 
'  Sports  of  the  Carnival  at  Eorne,'  he  carried  it  to  great 
perfection.  His  etchings,  both  of  landscapes  and  of 


CH.  IV.]  PAUL  SANDBY  103 

figures,  are  also  numerous  and  spirited.  During  the 
controversy  among  the  artists,  as  to  the  formation  of  a 
public  academy,  in  1753-4,  he  severely  ridiculed  the 
opposition  of  Hogarth  and  others  to  the  scheme,  in  a 
series  in  etchings,  which  strikingly  exhibited  his  powers 
as  a  caricaturist,  but  which  he  gladly  withdrew  when  the 
contest  ceased.  He  contributed  largely  to  the  exhibitions 
of  the  Society  of  Artists,  from  1760  to  1764,  and  was 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Incorporated  Society  who 
withdrew  from  its  government  in  the  dissensions  which 
preceded  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In  1768 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance 
chief  drawing-master  to  the  Eoyal  Military  Academy  at 
Woolwich,  and  by  George  HL  he  was  employed  as  a 
teacher  of  drawing  to  the  royal  princes.  He  had  also 
other  pupils,  some  eminent  in  rank,  and  others  afterwards 
celebrated  as  professional  artists. 

Paul  Sandby  painted  in  oil  as  well  as  in  opaque  colours 
with  great  success ;  but  his  fame  rests  on  his  right  to  be 
considered  the  founder  of  the  English  school  of  water- 
colour  painting,  since  he  was  the  first  to  show  the 
capability  of  that  material  to  produce  finished  pictures, 
and  to  lead  the  way  to  the  perfection  in  effect  and  colour 
to  which  that  branch  of  art  has  lately  attained.  He  was 
an  enthusiastic  student  of  nature ;  and  being  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  principles  of  linear  perspective,  he 
traversed  the  country,  drawing,  on  their  respective  sites, 
views  of  castles,  abbeys,  cities,  and  rural  scenes,  with 
characteristic  truth  and  pictorial  taste.  In  his  early 
drawings  the  process  by  which  he  produced  the  cheerful 
daylight  effects  apparent  in  his  landscapes  was  to  draw 
carefully  with  a  reed-pen  the  outline  of  every  part  of  the 
composition,  without  diminution  of  tint,  distributing  the 
shadows  with  indian-ink,  and  throwing  a  wash  of  colour 
over  the'  whole.  These  works  were  entitled  u  tinted 
drawings."  In  his  second  and  improved  style  he  subdued 
the  rigid  appearance  of  the  outline,  and  carefully  repeated 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

his  tints  till  he  produced  in  the  foreground-objects  a 
richer  and  deeper  variety  of  hues.  Although,  from  the 
materials  being  chiefly  vegetable  colours,  and  these  few 
and  badly-prepared,  his  water-colour  drawings  wanted 
the  brilliancy  of  modern  works,  they  lost  nothing  of 
artistic  skill  and  beauty  in  consequence,  while  his  body- 
colour  drawings  were  executed  with  great  mastery  and 
effect. 

A  large  number  of  engravings  were  published  by  him 
in  aquatinta,  after  his  own  drawings,  and  a  volume  of 
150  plates  engraved  from  his  drawings  was  issued  in 
1778  as  the  "  Virtuosi's  Museum."  After  a  long  and 
active  life,  and  with  unimpaired  faculties,  he  died  in  his 
84th  year,  at  No.  4  St.  George's  Eow,  Hyde  Park,  on  the 
9th  November,  1809,  and  was  interred  in  the  burial-ground 
of  St.  George's,  Hanover  Square,  situated  at  the  back  of 
the  garden  of  his  house.  His  gentlemanly  bearing,  his 
kindness  of  heart,  his  love  of  wit  and  humour,  his 
generous  readiness  to  befriend  his  brother  artists  in  neces- 
sity, and  to  promote  the  interests  of  those  who  were  yet 
unknown  to  fame,  rendered  him  an  especial  favourite 
among  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintance. 

DOMINIC  SERRES,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Aux,  the  capital  of 
Gascony,  in  France,  in  1722.  Educated  at  the  public 
school  of  that  city,  he  was  intended  for  a  religieux,  but  hav- 
ing an  aversion  for  such  a  secluded  life,  he  ran  away  from 
home,  and  travelled  on  foot  to  Spain,  where  he  engaged 
himself  to  serve  on  board  a  ship  bound  for  South  America, 
and  afterwards  became  master  of  a  trading  vessel  to  the 
Havannah,  where  during  the  war  of  1752  he  was  taken 
prisoner  by  a  British  frigate,  and  was  thus  brought  to 
England  and  confined  in  the  Marshalsea.  Having  in  early 
years  received  some  instruction  in  drawing,  he  applied 
himself  on  his  release  to  marine  painting,  and  was  assisted 
in  his  studies  by  Mr.  Brooking,  the  best  artist  in  that 
style  of  the  time,  and  soon  acquired  considerable  renown 


Cn.  IV.]  SERRES  — RICHARDS  105 

as  a  painter  of  sea-pieces  and  landscapes.  The  gallant 
Lord  Hawke  and  other  naval  commanders  patronized 
him  to  paint  their  nautical  exploits ;  and  one  of  his  most 
important  pictures  was  a  view  of  Lord  Howe's  engage- 
ment with  the  French  and  Spanish  fleets  off  Gibraltar  in 
1782.  Ten  years  previously  he  painted  three  pictures  of 
the  Naval  Eeview  at  Portsmouth,  and  thus  gained  the  ap- 
pointment of  Marine  Painter  to  the  King.  For  several 
years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  he 
exhibited  a  series  of  mementos  of  gallant  deeds,  which 
as  works  of  art  would  not  be  much  thought  of  now,  but 
were  popular  in  their  day,  and  were  engraved.  In  1792 
he  was  appointed  librarian  to  the  Academy,  on  the  re- 
signation of  Wilton,  the  sculptor,  and  terminated  a  life  of 
industry  and  honourable  success  on  the  3rd  of  November, 
1792,  at  an  advanced  age.  He  lived  in  the  house  ad- 
joining that  occupied  by  his  friend,  Paul  Sandby,  in  St. 
George's  Eow,  Hyde  Park,  and  was  buried  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  Marylebone  parish,  in  Paddington  Street,  Baker 
Street.  His  eldest  son,  J.  T.  Serres,  followed  the  same 
branch  of  art  as  his  father  with  tolerable  success. 

JOHX  EICHARDS,  E.A.,  was  a  landscape  painter,  who 
chose  for  his  subjects  the  old  baronial  halls  of  his  native 
country,  and  the  ruins  of  abbeys  and  other  ancient  build- 
ings. He  was  a  constant  exhibitor  at  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy ;  and  in  1788,  on  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Newton, 
he  was  appointed  secretary,  and  held  the  appointment 
till  his  death,  which  took  place  in  his  apartments  at  the 
Academy,  on  the  18th  December,  1810.  He  repaired 
the  Cartoon  of  Leonard!  da  Vinci  belonging  to  the  Aca- 
demy,  and  made  the  catalogue  of  its  art-treasures.  He 
suffered  greatly  from  impaired  health  during  his  latter 
years.  He  chiefly  distinguished  himself  as  a  painter  of 
theatrical  scenery,  and  in  that  province  of  art  displayed 
considerable  merit,  having  held  the  leading  place  in  that 
department  at  Coveut  Garden  Theatre  for  many  years. 


10G  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 

Ei CHARD  WILSOX,  E,  A.,  deservedly  regarded  as  one  of 
the  great  landscape  painters  of  the  English  school,  was 
born  at  Pinegas,  in  Montgomeryshire,  in  1713.  His  father 
was  a  clergyman,  and  his  mother  was  related  to  the  late 
Lord  Chancellor  Camden.  Having  given  signs  of  artistic 
taste,  by  his  early  attempts  at  drawing  with  a  burnt  stick 
upon  the  walls,  young  Eichard  Wilson  was  placed  by  his 
relative,  Sir  George  Wynne,  with  Thomas  Wright,  a 
portrait  painter,  who  lived  in  Covent  Garden,  for  instruc- 
tion in  art.  He  thus  became  a  portrait  painter ;  and  in 
1749  was  so  far  distinguished  among  his  many  contem- 
poraries in  that  branch  of  art,  as  to  be  employed  by 
Bishop  Hayter,  of  Norwich,  at  that  time  tutor  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales  (afterwards  George  HI.)  and  the  Duke 
of  York,  to  paint  the  portraits  of  his  Eoyal  pupils. 
Very  little  is  now  known  of  his  portraits  ;  but  it  is 
stated  that  they  were  bold  and  artistic,  and  that  in 
effect  and  colouring  he  followed  the  style  of  Eembrandt." 
Some  were  executed  in  black  and  white  chalk  in  a  very 
masterly  way. 

In  1749  he  went  to  Italy  with  Mr.  Locke,  of  Nbrbury, 
and  in  Venice  he  became  acquainted  with  Zuccarelli,  who 
urged  him  to  practise  landscape  painting,  from  seeing  a 
rough  sketch  he  made  of  the  scene  from  the  window  of 
the  house,  while  waiting  for  his  friend.  This  advice  was 
strengthened  when  Wilson  proceeded  to  Eome,  by  the 
proposal  of  Vernet,  on  seeing  one  of  his  landscapes,  to 
exchange  pictures  with  him,  and  by  the  French  artist 
showing  Wilson's  landscape  thus  obtained  to  all  the  visi- 
tors at  his  studio,  and  praising  the  English  author  of  it. 
Subsequently  Mengs  offered  to  paint  his  portrait  (the 
best  now  extant  of  Wilson)  for  one  of  his  landscapes ; 
and  thus  encouraged,  he  devoted  himself  altogether  to 
the  study  of  nature,  transferring  to  his  canvas  the  very 
air  and  tint  of  the  Italian  scenes  he  copied.  Six  years 
were  spent  abroad ;  and  in  1755  he  came  back  to  London 
to  seek  his  fortunes  among  his  own  countrymen. 


CH.  IV.]  RICHARD    WILSON  107 

He  took  up  his  abode  on  the  north  side  of  Covent 
Garden,  at  that  time  and  long  previously,  a  favourite 
locality  with  artists.  He  finished  several  pictures,  and 
obtained  a  fair  prospect  of  patronage.  Thomas  Sandby, 
Deputy-Eanger  of  Windsor  Park,  obtained  from  the 
Eanger,  William,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  a  commission  for 
Wilson  to  paint  the  '  Niobe '  for  his  Eoyal  Highness, 
which  was  afterwards  engraved  by  Woollett.  Subse- 
quently he  painted  a  half-length  picture  of  Zion  House 
for  the  King's  inspection ;  and  it  is  stated  that  when 
Lord  Bute,  by  whom  it  was  to  be  presented,  remarked 
that  sixty  guineas,  the  price  named,  was  too  much, 
Wilson  angrily  replied,  "  If  the  King  'cannot  afford  to 
pay  so  large  a  sum  at  once,  I  will  take  it  by  instal- 
ments," and  thus  offended  his  lordship,  and  excluded 
himself  from  Court  employment.  His  irritability  of 
temper,  unfortunately,  was  never  under  control,  and  led 
to  much  of  the  distress  and  neglect  which  saddened  many 
subsequent  years  of  this  talented  artist's  life.  There 
seems  to  have  been  an  antipathy  approaching  to  dislike 
between  him  and  Eeynolds — the  one  rough  in  manner, 
and  avoiding  the  society  of  his  brother  artists, — the  other 
courtly  and  refined,  and  fond  of  social  intercourse :  and  Q 
it  is  reported  that  when  Eeynolds  once  proposed  in-  ' 
advertently  in  Wilson's  presence,  the  health  of  Gains- ? ' 
borough,  as  the  best  landscape  painter,  poor  Wilson 
angrily  added,  as  a  retort — "  and  the  best  portrait  painter  ' 
too!"' 

While  a  few  discriminating  connoisseurs  purchased 
some  of  his  best  pictures,  the  larger  number  of  them 
were  bought  for  a  few  pounds  apiece  by  a  dealer  in  St. 
James's,  who  at  last  declined  to  take  any  more,  as  he  had 
sold  none  of  those  he  had  bought  from  him  during  several 
years.  Indeed,  at  a  later  period,  Paul  Sandby  offered 
him  an  advance  of  price  on  a  large  number  of  his 
sketches,  and  led  him  to  suppose  that  lie  could  find  pur- 
chasers for  them ;  but  although  he  paid  him  for  them,  as 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

they  were  executed,  he  could  not  dispose  of  them,  and 
they  remained  in  his  possession  long  after  Wilson's  death, 
and  were  sold  many  years  afterwards  by  his  son,  T.  P. 
Sandby,  at  a  time  when  Wilson's  drawings  were  be- 
ginning to  be  estimated  as  they  deserved.  Sir  W.  Beechey 
was  another  of  his  friends ;  but  his  morose  disposition 
hindered  many  from  having  the  opportunity  to  show  him 
kindness.  Yet  he  greatly  needed  it ;  for  at  one  time  he 
was  unable  to  execute  a  commission  he  received  from 
want  of  sufficient  money  to  purchase  the  canvas  and 
colours  with  which  to  paint ;  and  his  life  gradually  be- 
came more  dreary  and  cheerless.  He  shifted  his  abode 
from  time  to  time,  as  he  found  his  means  contract  by  the 
decline  of  patronage.  Thus  from  Covent  Garden  Piazza 
he  removed  to  Charlotte  Street,  Fitzroy  Square ;  thence 
to  Great  Queen  Street,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields ;  then  to 
Foley  Place,  and  lastly,  to  a  wretched  lodging  in  Tot- 
tenham Street,  Tottenham  Court  Eoad.  On  the  death  of 
Hayman  in  1770,  he  solicited  the  appointment  held  by 
him  of  librarian  to  the  Eoyal  Academy — an  office  of 
small  emolument,  but  which  happily  rescued  him  from 
utter  starvation. 

When  his  health  was  visibly  declining,  and  his  spirits 
were  broken  by  continued  disappointment,  Wilson  un- 
expectedly became  possessed  by  the  death  of  his  brother 
of  a  small  estate  in  Wales,  near  the  village  of  Llanberis, 
then  called  Colomondie,  but  now  known  as  Loggerheads, 
from  the  sign  of  that  name  which  Wilson  painted  for  the 
village  ale-house.  There  he  spent  his  last  days  in  ease 
and  comfort,  enjoying  the  lovely  scenery  by  which  he 
was  surrounded,  but  unable  to  renew  the  health  and 
vigour  of  bygone  days.  A  sudden  illness  which  over- 
took him  in  one  of  his  walks  terminated  fatally  in  May, 
1782,  when  he  was  in  his  69th  year.  He  was  buried  in 
the  parish  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Mold,  where  an  altar 
tombstone  covers  his  grave.  Since  his  death  his  genius 
has  been  universally  acknowledged,  and  his  works  held 


CH.  IV.]  WILSON— GAINSBOROUGH  109 

in  high,  repute ;  but  the  taste  for  classic  landscape  and 
for  the  poetical  conceptions  of  nature  which  his  pictures 
displayed  was  not  created  in  his  own  day,  although  in 
choice  of  subject,  felicity  in  the  distribution  of  light  and 
shade,  and  freshness  and  harmony  of  tints,  he  was  scarcely 
excelled  by  any  of  his  more  fortunate  contemporaries. 
Many  of  his  best  works  he  repeated  several  times ;  and  a 
large  number  of  his  pictures,  seven  of  which  are  in  the 
National  Collections,  have  been  engraved. 

Of  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH,  E.A.,  it  was  said  by  Sir 
Joshua  Eeynolds,  "  That  if  ever  this  nation  should  pro- 
duce genius  sufficient  to  acquire  for  us  the  honourable 
distinction  of  an  English  School,  the  name  of  Gainsborough 
will  be  transmitted  to  posterity  as  one  of  the  very  first 
of  that  rising  name."  Posterity  has  fulfilled  this  predic- 
tion ;  and  he  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  artists 
in  the  English  school  of  landscape  painting.  He  was  born 
in  1727  at  Sudbury,  in  Suffolk.  His  father  was  a  clothier, 
of  slender  means,  and  was  able  to  afford  his  son  but 
little  school  education ;  he  was  also  self-taught  as  an 
artist,  for  in  the  woods  and  lanes  of  Suffolk  he  acquired 
that  love  and  knowledge  of  the  beauties  of  quiet  nature 
for  which  his  early  pictures  especially  are  distinguished. 
He  would  pass  his  mornings  in  solitude  when  a  mere  boy, 
making  a  sketch  of  an  old  tree,  a  marshy  brook,  a  few  cattle, 
a  shepherd  and  his  flock,  or  any  other  accidental  object  that 
presented  itself.  From  delineation  he  proceeded  to  colour- 
ing ;  and  before  he  was  twelve  years  old  he  had  painted 
several  landscapes.  In  his  thirteenth  year  he  was  sent 
to  London,  and  placed  successively  under  Gravelot,  the 
engraver,  and  Frank  Hayman,  the  painter,  under  whose 
instructions  he  remained  four  years.  He  then  returned 
to  his  father's  house  at  Sudbury ;  and  while  sketching  in 
his  native  woods,  he  met  a  young  lady,  Miss  Margaret  Burr, 
to  whom  after  a  short  courtship,  he  was  married  when 
in  his  nineteenth  year.  Besides  being  a  loving  wife,  this 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

lady  made  him  comparatively  independent,  having  a  for- 
tune of  her  own  of  £200  a  year.  On  his  marriage  he 
went  to  Ipswich,  where  he  resided  tih1  1758,  when  he  re- 
moved to  the  metropolis  of  fashion,  Bath.  During  his 
stay  at  Ipswich  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Philip 
Thicknesse,  the  governor  of  Landguard  Fort,  who  osten- 
tatiously patronised  the  young  artist ;  but  in  after  years 
the  friendship  was  broken  by  the  painter,  who  found  his 
independence  of  action  destroyed  by  his  patron's  harass- 
ing protection. 

Having  practised  portrait  painting  with  increasing  suc- 
cess while  in  Bath,  in  1774  he  returned  to  London,  and 
took  the  house  (now  forming  part  of  the  War  Office)  in 
Pall  Mall,  built  for  the  Duke  of  Schomberg. .  Being  com- 
missioned to  paint  a  conversation  or  family  piece  of  the 
King  and  Queen,  and  the  three  princesses,  he  soon 
acquired  further  patronage ;  and  from  the  excellent  like- 
nesses he  produced  he  obtained  extensive  practice  and 
proportionate  emolument.  His  portraits  were  chiefly 
valued  for  their  striking  resemblance  to  the  originals : 
some  of  them  were  painted  in  a  rough  careless  manner, 
in  a  style  of  hatching  and  scumbling  entirely  his  own : 
upon  others  he  bestowed  great  care  and  finish  ;  and  by 
the  permanent  splendour  of  his  colours,  the  ease  and 
grace  of  the  positions,  and  the  natural  and  living  air  he 
gave  to  his  portraits,  he  formed  a  formidable  rival  even 
to  the  talented  President.  Latterly  he  obtained  forty 
guineas  for  a  hah0,  and  a  hundred  for  a  whole-length 
portrait. 

His  fame,  however,  chiefly  rests  on  his  landscapes.  „  He 
painted  them  with  a  faithful  adherence  to  nature  :  his  trees, 
foregrounds  and  figures  have  much  force  and  spirit ;  and 
there  is  something  of  the  brilliancy  of  Claude  and  the 
simplicity  of  Euysdael  in  his  romantic  scenes.  There  is  a 
great  difference  between  his  early  and  later  works :  in  the 
former  every  feature  is  copied  from  nature  in  its  finest 
and  most  delicate  lineaments,  yet  without  stiffness  or  for- 


CH.  IV.]  THOMAS   GAINSBOKOUGH  111 

mality  ;  in  his  later  works,  striking  effect,  great  breadth, 
and  judicious  distribution  of  light  and  shade,  produce  a 
grand  and  even  solemn  impression  upon  the  beholder, 
especially  when  viewed  (as  they  were  painted)  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  picture.  In  private  life  Gainsborough 
was  eminent  for  possessing  all  the  virtues  of  a  generous 
and  kindly  nature.  If  he  selected  for  the  exercise  of  his 
pencil  an  infant  from  a  cottage,  all  the  tenants  of  the 
humble  roof  generally  shared  in  the  profits  of  the  pic- 
ture, and  some  of  them  found  in  his  home  a  permanent 
abode.  His  liberality  was  not  confined  to  this  alone ; 
needy  relatives  and  unfortunate  friends  were  further 
claimants  on  a  heart  that  could  not  deny  aid  to  any  :  and 
to  this  generosity,  rather  than  to  any  extravagance,  it  must 
be  attributed  that  the  amount  of  affluence  was  not  left  to 
his  family  which  so  much  merit  might  promise,  and  such 
real  worth  deserve. 

Many  anecdotes  are  told  tending  to  show  that  Gains- 
borough was  a  great  enthusiast  both  in  painting  and 
music.  He  appears  to  have  "  painted  portraits  for  money, 
and  landscapes  because  he  loved  them :  but  he  was  a 
musician  because  he  could  not  help  it."  John  T.  Smith 
relates  that  he  one  day  found  Gainsborough  listening 
in  speechless  admiration,  with  tears  on  his  cheeks,  to  the 
playing  of  a  first-rate  violinist,  Colonel  Hamilton.  Sud- 
denly the  painter  called  out — "  Go  on,  and  I  will  give 
you  the  picture  of  c  The  Boy  and  the  Stile,'  which  you 
have  so  often  wished  to  purchase  of  me."  And  he  was 
as  good  as  his  word ;  for  the  Colonel  took  away  the  pic- 
ture with  him  in  a  coach. 

Although  not  fond  of  literature,  lie  was  intimate  with 
Johnson  and  Burke,  and  had  an  especial  affection  for 
Kichard  B.  Sheridan,  from  whom  one  day  after  dinner, 
when  apparently  in  good  health  but  in  low  spirits,  he 
obtained  a  promise  that  he  would  be  the  "  one  worthy 
man "  he  desired  to  attend  his  funeral.  A  year  after- 
wards, when  listening  to  the  impeachment  of  Warren 


112  HISTORY   OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IV. 

Hastings,  with  his  back  to  an  open  window,  in  West- 
minster Hall,  he  felt  a  cold  touch  his  neck.  This  proved 
to  be  a  wen,  which  grew  internally,  and  becoming  can- 
cerous, eventually  caused  his  death.  Years  before  a  cool- 
ness had  arisen  between  him  and  Eeynolds ;  and  since 
1784  he  refused  to  exhibit  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  be- 
cause a  whole-length  portrait  he  sent  was  not  hung  on 
the  line.  Now,  in  the  prospect  of  death,  he  sent  for  the 
President  to  make  peace  with  him,  and  expired  saying — 
"We  are  ah1  going  to  heaven,  and  Vandyke  is  of  the 
company."  His  death  took  place  on  the  2nd  of  August, 
1788,  in  his  61st  year.  Sheridan  and  Eeynolds  attended 
him  to  his  grave  in  Kew  churchyard,  where  at  his  request, 
he  was  buried  near  his  friend  Kirby,  with  his  name  only, 
without  any  other  inscription,  cut  on  his  gravestone.  In 
the  same  year  Eeynolds,  in  his  discourse  to  the  students, 
. \frvtA.  gave  a  very  accurate  criticism  upon  the  works  of  Gains- 
borough,  several  of  which  are  in  the  National  Collections. 

FEANCESCO  ZUCCAEELLI,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Pitighano,  near 
Florence,  in  1702.  He  was  first  a  scholar  of  Paolo  Anesi, 
but  afterwards  studied  under  G.  M.  Morahdi  and  P.  Nelli. 
For  some  time  he  applied  himself  to  historic  painting  ;  but 
his  inclination  led  him  rather  to  choose  landscapes,  with 
small  figures,  his  tasteful  execution  of  which  was  greatly 
admired,  not  only  in  England,  but  throughout  Europe, 
wherever  his  works  were  known.  He  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Venice ;  but  finding  that  he  had  established  a 
good  reputation  in  this  country,  by  the  engravings  after 
his  works  made  by  Smith,  he  came  to  London  in  October 
1752,  and  continued  to  reside  here  tih1  1773,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Florence.  In  the  mean  time  he  seemed  to  reign 
over  the  public  taste  in  England ;  and  Wilson  was  fre- 
quently advised  to  imitate  his  style,  if  he  hoped  to  prosper. 
Many  of  his  pictures  were  engraved  by  Vivares,  and  in 
early  life  he  himself  made  etchings  after  Andrea  del  Sarto 
and  others.  In  1759  he  painted  a  set  of  designs  for 


QH.  IV.]  ZUCCARELLI— BAKER— MOSER  113 

tapestries  for  the  Earl  of  Egremont's  town  mansion  in 
Piccadilly.  There  is  much  that  is  pleasing  and  graceful 
about  his  compositions,  but  they  are  feeble  and  artificial, 
cold  and  classical,  and  are  a  striking  contrast  to  the  living 
portraitures  of  the  wild  luxuriance  of  nature  by  Gains- 
borough. After  his  return  to  Italy  in  1773,  he  unfor- 
tunately vested  the  produce  of  his  life's  labours  in  the 
security  of  one  of  the  monasteries  of  Florence,  which 
was  shortly  afterwards  suppressed  by  the  Emperor  of 
Austria,  Joseph  II.  In  his  old  age  he  was  thus  reduced 
to  indigence,  and  obliged  to  resume  his  pencil.  He  died 
at  Florence  in  1789. 

JOHN  BAKER,  R.A.,  was  born  in  1736,  and  was  a  fellow- 
pupil  of  Catton  in  learning  to  decorate  coaches  with  his- 
torical and  fancy  subjects,  painted  on  the  panels.  In  the 
beginning  of  his  career  he  was  much  employed  in  painting 
armorial  bearings,  and  ornamental  designs  for  carriages, 
chiefly  wreaths  of  flowers,  before  it  became  the  peculiar 
province  of  herald-painters.  He  subsequently  chose  flower- 
painting  as  his  pursuit,  and  a  very  creditable  specimen  of 
his  abilities  in  that  branch  of  art  is  now  in  the  Council- 
chamber  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He  died  in  1771. 

MARY  MOSER,  R.A.,  was  the  daughter  of  the  Keeper 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  G.  M.  Moser,  and  was  a  skilful 
flower-painter,  whose  pictures  were  at  one  time  in  great 
request.  She  is  the  only  lady,  besides  Angelica  Kauffman, 
who  has  ever  been  a  member  of  the  Royal  Academy.  In 
1758  and  1759  she  obtained  premiums  of  five  guineas 
each  from  the  Society  of  Arts  for  her  drawings.  Queen 
Charlotte  gave  her  a  commission  to  decorate  an  entire 
room  with  flowers  at  Frogmore,  which  was  afterwards 
called  Miss  Moser's  room,  and  for  painting  which  she 
received  £900.  After  several  years'  practice  in  her  pro- 
fession, during  which  she  was  thought  to  have  formed  an 
unrequited  passion  for  Fuseli,  she  married  Captain  Hugh 

VOL.  I.  I 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 

Lloyd,  and  afterwards  only  practised  art  as  an  amateur. 
She  survived  her  husband  several  years,  and  died,  at  an 
advanced  age,  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1819,  at  21  Upper 
Thornhaugh  Street,  Tottenham  Court  Eoad,  and  was 
buried  at  Kensington,  in  the  grave  of  her  husband.  An 
amusing  anecdote  is  told  relating  to  her,  connected  with 
the  re-election  of  West  as  President,  in  1803.  One  voice 
was  given  in  favour  of  Mrs.  Lloyd  for  the  presidential 
chair,  which  was  attributed  to  Fuseli,  who,  when  taxed 
with  it,  in  his  usual  sarcastic  vein,  replied,  "  Well,  suppose 
I  did ;  is  she  not  eligible  ?  and  is  not  one  old  woman  as 
good  as  another?"  She  was  on  friendly  terms  with 
Nollekens,  West,  and  Cosway,  and  their  wives ;  and 
Queen  Charlotte  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth  continued  for 
many  years  to  pay  kindly  visits  to  one  who  owed  so  much 
to  their  patronage. 

Twenty-five  painters,  such  as  those  whose  course  we 
have  thus  briefly  sketched,  were  sufficient,  despite  the  defi- 
ciencies of  some  among  them,  to  produce  works  attractive 
enough  to  draw  numerous  visitors  to  the  annual  exhibition 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy ;  and  some  few  of  them,  at  least, 
have  succeeded  in  establishing  for  English  art  the  claim  to 
a  distinctive  school,  and  have  rendered  their  own  names 
illustrious  in  all  future  time  by  their  originality  and  power. 

The  ARCHITECTS  who  were  foundation-members  of  the 
Academy  next  claim  our  attention.  As  contributors  to 
the  exhibition,  these  artists  could  do  little ;  for  their 
drawings  would  only  interest  the  profession,  except  in  rare 
cases,  and  the  taste  for  architecture  a  hundred  years  ago 
was  at  its  lowest  ebb  in  England.  But  the  fruits  of  their 
genius  exist  among  us,  and,  notwithstanding  the  progress 
which  has  since  been  made  in  this  branch  of  art,  still 
claim  for  their  originators  our  respect  and  admiration. 
The  architects  were — THOMAS  SANDBY,  the  first  Professor 
of  Architecture,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken  ;  Sir 
William  Chambers ;  John  Gwynn  ;  and  George  Dance. 


CH.  IV.]  SIR  WILLIAM   CHAMBERS  115 

SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS,  E.A.,  was  descended  from  a 
Scottish  family  of  the  name  of  Chalmers,  stated  to  have 
been  barons  of  Tartas,  in  France,  and  was  born  at  Stock- 
holm, in  1726,  where  his  grandfather  had  established  him- 
self as  a  merchant,  in  order  to  prosecute  certain  claims  on 
the  government  of  that  country.  At  two  years  of  age  he 
was  brought  to  England,  and  subsequently  placed  at 
school  at  Ripon  in  Yorkshire.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
was  appointed  supercargo  to  a  ship  belonging  to  the 
Swedish  East  India  Company,  on  a  voyage  to  China, 
where  he  made  a  series  of  sketches  of  the  picturesque 
buildings  and  gardens  of  Canton,  which  were  published 
on  his  return  home.  At  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  or 
shortly  afterwards,  he  settled  in  London,  as  an  architect 
and  draughtsman,  and  soon  made  for  himself  a  respectable 
position  in  his  new  profession.  He  acquired  the  neces- 
sary preliminary  instruction  in  architectural  drawing, 
and  travelled  in  Italy,  examining  and  studying  with  un- 
wearied application  the  works  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  of 
Palladio,  Vignola,  and  other  Italian  architects,  and  subse- 
quently went  to  Paris,  where  he  studied  under  Clerisseau, 
and  acquired  a  freedom  of  pencil,  in  which  he  greatly 
excelled. 

To  his  skill  as  a  draughtsman  was  added  most  pleasing 
conversation  and  manners,  which  led  to  his  being  ap- 
pointed, by  the  patronage  of  Lord  Bute,  tutor  in  architec- 
ture to  the  young  Prince  of  Wales  (afterwards  George  III.) ; 
and  on  the  accession  of  that  monarch  to  the  throne,  he 
was  appointed  Comptroller  of  the  Office  of  Woods,  and 
Surveyor-General  to  the  King,  and  was  shortly  afterwards 
employed  to  lay  out  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew.  In  ful- 
filling this  task  he  displayed  that  predilection  for  the 
Chinese  style,  both  of  gardening  and  architecture,  of  which 
he  had  already  given  intimation  in  a  work  entitled  "Designs 
for  Chinese  Buildings,"  published  in  1759.  The  altera-  1ki^  t 
tions  at  Kew  were  finished  in  1765,  and  a  set  of  prints, 
with  descriptions  of  the  works,  was  published  in  folio.  /  ; 

12 


11(5 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IV. 


The  "  Celestial "  tastes  thus  exhibited  were  severely 
satirised;  but  in  1772  he  issued  another  vindication  of 
Chinese  designs  and  fashions  (the  taste  for  which  was 
steadily  increasing),  entitled  "  A  Dissertation  on  Oriental 
Gardening."  This  called  forth  from  Horace  Walpole  and 
the  poet  Mason  (whose  "  English  Garden  "  it  was  thought 
to  be  intended  to  answer)  a  satirical  poem,  entitled  "  An 
heroic  Epistle  to  Sir  William  Chambers,  Knight,  Comp- 
troller-General of  his  Majesty's  Works,  and  Author  of  a 
late  4  Dissertation  on  Oriental  Gardening,'  enriched  with 
explanatory  notes,  chiefly  extracted  from  that  elaborate 
performance."  The  controversy  was  continued  for  some 
time ;  nevertheless,  Chambers  retained  the  Eoyal  favour, 
and  accumulated  honours,  being  allowed  to  assume  the 
title  of  knighthood  in  England,  having  been  made,  in 
1771,  a  knight  of  the  Swedish  order  of  the  Polish  Star. 

In  1775  he  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  rebuilding 
of  Somerset  House,  which  was  his  greatest  and  his  last 
work.1  The  street  front  of  this  building  is  in  all  respects 
better  adapted  to  a  great  city  than  the  Greek  models 
which  are  so  often  adopted.  The  eastern  wing  was  left 
unfinished  by  him,  and  has  since  been  built  by  Smirke ; 
and  additions  have  also  been  made  on  the  western  side, 
in  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  building,  by  Mr.  Penne- 
thorne.  The  general  proportions  of  the  whole  are  good, 
and  some  of  the  details  are  of  great  elegance,  especially 
the  entrance-archway  from  the  Strand.  The  terrace 
elevation  towards  the  Thames  was  made  (like  the  Adelphi 
Terrace  of  the  Brothers  Adam)  in  anticipation  of  the 
long-projected  embankment  of  the  river,  and  is  one  of 


1  "  Peter  Pindar  "  seems  to  have 
taken  a  special  aversion  to  Sir  W. 
Chambers,  as  several  of  his  "  Odes  " 
refer  to  him.  Here  are  two  verses 
from  "  Subjects  for  Painters  :" — 

"  Knight  of  the  Polar  Star,  or  Bear,  don't  start, 
And  like  some  long^eared  creatures  bray, '  what 
art?' 


Sir  William,    shut  your   ell-wide   mouth    of 

terror, 

I  come  not  here,  believe  me,  to  complain 
Of  such  as  dared  employ  the  building  brain, 
And  criticise  an  economic  error. 

1 1  come  not  here  to  call  thee  knave  or  fool, 
And  bid  thee  seek  again  Palladio's  school ; 
Or  copy  Heaven,  who  formed  thy  head  so  thick 
To  give  stability  to  stone  and  brick  : 
No— 'twould  be  cruel  now  to  make  a  rout, 
The  very  stones  already  have  cried  out." 


CH.  IV.]  SIR  WILLIAM   CHAMBERS  117 

the  finest  parades  in  London.  Next  to  Somerset  House, 
among  Chambers'  most  successful  works,  are  the  mansions 
he  built  for  the  Marquis  of  Abercorn  at  Duddingstone, 
near  Edinburgh ;  Milton  Abbey,  in  Dorsetshire,  designed 
in  the  Gothic  style,  for  Lord  Dorchester ;  and  an  Italian 
villa,  erected  at  Koehampton  for  the  Earl  of  Besborough. 
In  all  his  plans  he  displayed  considerable  ingenuity,  and 
there  was  generally  a  certain  degree  of  grandeur  in  his 
designs.  His  staircases,  in  particular,  are  much  admired  ; 
and  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  many  improvements  in 
the  interior  decorations  of  our  buildings. 

A  large  proportion  of  his  fame,  however,  rests  on  a 
work  he  published  in  1791,  entitled  "  A  Treatise  on  Civil 
Architecture,"  of  which  two  subsequent  editions — one  by 
Joseph  Gwilt,  F.S.A.,  the  other  by  an  anonymous  editor 
in  1824 — have  been  issued.  He  devoted  much  thought 
and  research  to  this  task,  and  brought  together  in  it  the 
results  of  his  long  experience  and  comprehensive  know- 
ledge of  the  subject, — thus  rendering  his  book  the  first 
regular  and  detailed  treatise  on  the  art  of  design,  and 
laying  down  the  fixed  rules  by  which  excellence  in  archi- 
tecture could  be  judged.  By  this  work  lie  closed  a  pro- 
fessional career  in  which  he  had  gained  an  honourable 
reputation  at  home  and  abroad,  and  had  amassed  a  large 
fortune.  In  early  life  he  married  the  beautiful  daughter 
of  Wilton  the  sculptor  (whose  portrait  was  one  of  Cotes' 
best  works) ;  and  to  his  last  days  his  wife  was  his  constant 
companion,  and  his  family  his  chief  delight.  Beyond  the 
circle  of  home  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Johnson, 
Goldsmith,  Dr.  Burney,  and  Garrick,  among  the  geniuses 
of  his  day,  and  presided  over  a  little  monthly  gathering, 
called  the  "Architects'  Club,"  at  the  Thatched  House 
Tavern.  He  died  on  the  8th  of  March,  1796,  after  a 
long  illness  from  an  asthmatical  complaint,  in  his  71st 
year,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey.  His  por- 
trait, by  Sir  Joshua  Ecynolds  (one  of  the  finest  works  of 
the  pointer),  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Koyal  Academy. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IV. 

JOHN  GWYNN,  K*A.,  was  the  author  of  a  work  entitled 
"London  and  Westminster  Improved,"  published  in  1766 
(for  which  Johnson  wrote  the  dedication),  in  which  he 
suggested  several  architectural  projects  which  have  since 
given  to  the  book  something  of  a  prophetical  character ; 
for  instance,  he  advised  the  rebuilding  of  London  Bridge, 
the  erection  of  a  new  one  across  the  Thames  near  Somerset 
House,  the  removal  of  the  markets  from  Smithfield  and  the 
Fleet,  and  mapped  out  the  principal  new  thoroughfares  and 
improvements  which  have  since  been  planned  or  effected. 
He  was  besides  the  architect  of  several  mansions  and 
bridges,  and  his  design  for  a  bridge  to  be  erected  at  Black- 
friars  (in  the  competition  for  which  Mylne  was  finally  suc- 
cessful), led  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Johnson,  writing  several 
articles  in  the  "  Gazetteer  "  in  defence  of  the  semicircular 
arches  in  Gwynn's  design,  in  opposition  to  the  elliptical 
adopted  by  Mylne.  The  well-known  Magdalen  Bridge 
at  Oxford,  and  the  English  Bridge  at  Shrewsbury,  were 
also  designed  by  him.  He  died  in  1786. 

GEOKGE  DANCE,  the  elder  brother  of  Nathaniel  Dance, 
of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  was  born  in  1740.  By 
the  circumstances  of  his  position,  as  a  son  of  the  architect 
to  the  corporation  of  London,  he  received  an  education 
and  opportunities  of  study  which  peculiarly  fitted  him  to 
follow  successfully  the  profession  of  his  father,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  1768  in  his  office  of  city  surveyor.  The 
first  architectural  work  by  which  he  signalised  himself 
was  in  the  design  for  Newgate,  which  was  begun  by  him 
in  1770.  This  structure  has  been  highly  extolled,  and  has 
been  described  as  "  one  of  the  few  truly  monumental  pieces 
of  architecture  in  the  metropolis."  It  has  been  admired 
especially  for  its  striking  degree  of  character  —  its  severity 
as  a  prison  not  being  obtained  by  the  erection  of  a  dismal 
mass  devoid  of  all  aesthetic  charm,  but  secured  by  blend- 
ing into  one  expressive  whole  several  separate  and  boldly 
distinct  parts,  each  affording  effective  relief  of  light  and 


CH.  IV.]  GEORGE  DANCE  119 

shade.  The  Giltspur  Street  Compter,  designed  by  him, 
possessed  similar  characteristics  ;  and  he  added  further  to 
his  fame  as  an  architect  by  the  erection  of  St.  Luke's 
Hospital.  The  front  of  Guildhall,  erected  in  1789,  has, 
however,  been  severely  criticised,  and  is  in  very  question- 
able taste.  Not  so,  however,  the  Boydell  Shakspeare 
Gallery  in  Pall  Mall  (now  the  British  Institution),  and  the 
Theatre  at  Bath,  both  designed  by  him.  In  1799  he  was 
presented  with  a  silver  cup,  valued  at  fifty  guineas,  by  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  for  having,  as  one  of  the  auditors,  in 
conjunction  with  William  Tyler,  carefully  investigated  their 
accounts  up  to  that  date.  To  mark  their  appreciation  of 
his  services  in  preparing  the  report  and  suggestions  as  to 
the  funds,  presented  by  him  and  Farington  in  1809,  the 
Academicians  again  presented  him  with  a  silver  cup. 

On  the  death  of  Thomas  Sandby  in  1798,  George 
Dance  was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  professor  of  archi- 
tecture ;  but  he  does  not  appear  to  have  delivered  any 
lectures  on  the  art,  and  he  resigned  the  office  in  1805. 
In  1811-14,  two  folio  volumes  of  profile  portraits  were 
published,  drawn  by  George  Dance,  and  engraved  by 
William  Daniell  in  imitation  of  the  original  drawings. 
In  this  taste  for  portraiture,  he  followed  his  brother's 
branch  of  art  rather  than  his  own ;  but  these  sketches, 
although  characteristic  likenesses,  have  something  of  the 
appearance  of  caricatures.  In  1816  he  resigned  his 
appointment  as  city  surveyor  in  favour  of  his  pupil, 
William  Montague,  and  died  in  his  house  in  Gower  Street 
on  the  14th  of  January,  1825,  in  his  84th  year.  He  was 
buried  at  St.  Paul's,  near  to  the  last  earthly  resting  place 
of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and  John  Rennie,  the  engineer. 

The  SCULPTORS  among  the  foundation  members  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  were  William  Tyler,  Joseph  Wilton, 
George  Michael  Moser,  Richard  Yeo,  and  Agostino 
Carlini.  There  was  but  little  taste  or  patronage  for  their 
works  at  that  period,  and  the  opportunities  for  study  to 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IV. 

enable  sculptors  to  attain  to  perfection  in  their  art  were 
most  scanty.  This  may  account  for  the  small  display 
which  such  works  made  in  the  early  exhibitions  of  the 
Royal  Academy.  There  are  still  deficiencies  in  these 
respects,  and  still  need  for  progress  and  improvement, 
both  of  which  we  trust  will  shortly  be  accomplished. 

WILLIAM  TYLER,  E.A.,  is  described  as  an  architect,  and 
in  1786  he  designed  the  Freemasons'  Tavern  in  Great 
Queen  Street,  a  separate  building  from  Freemasons'  Hall, 
which  was  erected  ten  years  before  by  Thomas  Sandby. 
But  in  the  early  exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Academy,  he 
annually  appears  to  have  displayed  specimens  of  his  skill 
as  a  sculptor  of  busts  and  basso-relievos.  He  took  an 
active  interest  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  and  it  was  he  who  presented,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  George  Dance,  the  report  on  the  treasurer's 
account  in  1799,  and  received  a  present  of  a  silver  cup, 
valued  at  fifty  guineas,  from  the  Academicians  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  services.  He  died  in  1801. 

JOSEPH  WILTON,  R.A.,  attained  to  considerable  eminence 
in  his  profession,  and  is  the  first  English  sculptor  who  en- 
joyed the  advantage  of  a  regular  course  of  academic  study. 
His  father  was  a  manufacturer  of  plastic  ornaments  for 
ceilings,  &c.  and  employed  a  large  number  of  persons  in 
his  workshops.  Joseph  was  born  on  the  16th  of  July,  1722, 
and  was  first  taught  in  his  profession  by  Laurent  Delvaux, 
at  Neville,  in  Brabant.  In  1744  he  proceeded  to  Paris, 
where  he  gained  the  silver  medal  awarded  by  the  Academy 
for  working  in  marble.  Three  years  afterwards  he  went 
to  Rome,  and  in  1750  was  presented  by  the  Roman 
Academy  with  the  jubilee  gold  medal  given  by  Pope 
Benedict  XIV.  While  in  Italy  he  made  copies,  on  a  re- 
duced scale,  of  many  famous  antique  gems,  and  sold  them 
among  his  travelling  countrymen,  and  thus  obtained  the 
patronage  of  Mr.  Locke,  of  Norbury  Park,  a  gentleman 


CH.  IV.]  JOSEPH   WILTON  121 

of  great  taste  and  liberality.  After  eight  years  spent  in 
Italy,  he  came  back  to  London  in  company  with  Chambers 
and  Cipriani,  and  with  the  latter  was  chosen  as  a  director 
of  the  Duke  of  Eichmond's  sculpture  gallery  in  Spring 
Gardens,  to  which  we  have  already  referred.1  He  was 
thus  employed  till  1770.  He  had  been  previously  ap- 
pointed state-coach  carver  to  the  King,  and  made  the 
model  for  the  coronation  coach  for  George  HI. 

On  the  death  of  his  father  he  became  comparatively 
independent,  and  took  up  a  more  decided  course  as  a 
sculptor.  The  architects  of  his  day  being  generally  com- 
missioned to  carry  out  the  sculptured  decorations  and 
details  of  the  buildings  they  designed,  the  execution  of 
monuments,  statues,  &c.,  was  the  only  work  left  for  the 
professional  sculptor.  Wilton's  first  public  monument 
was  that  erected  to  General  Wolfe,  the  conqueror  of 
Quebec,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  which,  though  too  much 
crowded  in  design,  is  effective  in  some  of  its  parts.  The 
same  fault  is  apparent  in  his  subsequent  monuments  to 
Admiral  Holmes,  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Montrath, 
Pulteney  Earl  of  Bath,  and  Dr.  Stephen  Hales,  the 
divine  and  botanist.  All  these  works  he  finished  with 
great  softness,  and  worked  the  marble  till  it  displayed  a 
shining  surface,  in  his  anxiety  to  preserve  his  figures  from 
stain  and  dust.  In  his  busts  of  Bacon,  Cromwell, 
Newton,  Swift,  Chatham,  and  Chesterfield,  his  faults  are 
less  apparent,  and  his  skill  in  carving  marble  with  a  fleshy 
softness  of  surface,  is  seen  to  great  advantage. 

Principally  by  such  works  as  these  he  amassed  a  large 
fortune,  and  was  enabled  to  live  in  a  style  of  luxury  pro- 
portioned to  his  means.  He  occupied  a  large  house,  and 
assembled  goodly  company  at  his  table  —  Lord  Charle- 
mont  and  Mr.  Locke  among  the  aristocracy  ;  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  Sir  William  Chambers,  Bartolozzi,  Cipriani,  and 
Richard  Wilson,  among  the  Royal  Academicians ;  and 

1  See  ante,  p.  31. 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IV. 

Dr.  Johnson  and  Baretti  among  the  men  of  letters,  were  his 
frequent  guests.  When  age  crept  upon  him  he  retired 
from  his  profession,  sold  off  his  materials  by  auction,  and 
accepted  the  office  of  Keeper  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in 
1790,  retaining  it  till  his  death,  which  took  place  on 
the  25th  of  November,  1803.  By  his  gentlemanly 
manners  and  his  genial  hospitality,  he  retained  to  the  end 
his  popularity  among  his  brethren  in  the  profession  and 
the  patrons  of  art.  A  bust  of  him,  by  Eoubilliac,  was 
given  by  his  daughter  (Lady  Chambers)  to  the  Eoyal 
Academy. 

GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER,  E.A.,  was  a  gold  chaser  and 
enameller,  and  was  born  at  Scaffhausen,  in  Switzerland,  in 
1704.  When  still  young,  he  came  to  London',  and  found 
employment  in  chasing  brass  ornaments  for  cabinet-work, 
otherwise  "buhl,"  and  in  enamel  painting  for  watch- 
cases.  For  the  watch  of  George  III.  he  executed  suc- 
cessful enamels  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Bishop  of 
Osnaburg,  and  received  "  a  hat  full  of  guineas  "  as  his  re- 
ward. Subsequently  he  pursued  gold  chasing  and  enamel 
painting  generally.  He  was  manager  and  treasurer  of  the 
private  academy  for  artists  in  St.  Martin's  Lane ;  and  on 
the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  he  was  elected  to 
fill  the  office  of  Keeper,  for  the  duties  of  which  he  was 
eminently  qualified  by  his  knowledge  of  the  construction 
of  the  human  figure, — his  duties  consisting  principally  in 
superintending  and  instructing  the  students  in  drawing 
and  modelling  from  the  antique.  He  designed  the  Great 
Seal  of  England  for  King  George  HI.,  and  was  an  ex- 
cellent medallist.  He  died  at  his  apartments  in  Somerset 
House,  on  the  23rd  January,  1783,  and  was  buried  on 
the  30th  at  St.  Paul's,  Covent  Garden,  attended  to  the 
grave  by  the  Eoyal  Academicians  and  by  the  students  of 
the  Academy,  by  whom  he  was  greatly  beloved.  He  had 
previously  resided  with  his  daughter,  Mary  Moser,  at  his 
house  in  Craven  Buildings,  Drury  Lane.  An  eulogium 


CH.  IV.]  YEO— CARLINI  123 

upon  him,  by  Sir  Joshua  Keynolds,  appeared  in  one  of 
the  papers  of  the  day,  on  the  24th  January,  1783,  in 
which  he  is  described  as  the  first  gold-chaser  in  the 
kingdom,  and  as  having  a  universal  knowledge  of  all 
branches  of  painting  and  sculpture,  to  which  is  added, 
that  "  he  may  truly  be  said  to  be  in  every  sense  the  father 
of  the  present  race  of  artists." 

EICHARD  YEO,  K.A.,  was  a  sculptor  of  medallions,  and 
was  chief  engraver  to  his  Majesty's  Mint.  Little  can 
now  be  ascertained  of  his  history  beyond  these  facts,  and 
that  he  died  on  the  3rd  December,  1779. 


AGOSTINO  CARLIXI,  E.A.,  was  a  native  of  Geneva,  who 
came  in  early  life  to  reside  in  England,  and  was  appointed 
Keeper  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  succession  to  Moser  in 
1783.  As  a  sculptor,  he  excelled  particularly  in  his 
draperies,  which  were  always  executed  with  great  skill 
and  grace.  Among  his  best  works  was  an  equestrian 
statue  of  the  King  (a  model  of  which  is  still  preserved 
by  the  Eoyal  Academy)  and  a  statue  of  Dr.  Ward,  in 
marble,  which  is  the  property  of  the  Society  of  Arts. 
He  died  in  Carlisle  Street,  Soho,  on  the  16th  August, 
1790. 

With  such  an  assemblage  of  artists, — of  various  de- 
grees of  excellence,  and  pursuing  different  branches  of 
art, — the  Eoyal  Academy  commenced  its  career,  many 
of  the  members  being  soon  destined  to  leave  all  other 
competitors  in  the  race  for  distinction  in  the  background, 
and  to  gather  for  themselves  the  laurels  of  a  world-wide 
fame. 


Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  from  the  portrait  by  himself,  in  possession  of  the  Royal  Academy 


CHAPTEE  V. 

THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY   UNDER   THE   PRESIDENCY   OF   SIR 
JOSHUA   REYNOLDS,    1768—1792. 

Opening  of  the  Royal  Academy  —  Address  of  the  President  —  The  Schools  — 
Election  of  Associate  Engravers —  The  Annual  Exhibitions — Appropriation 
of  its  Funds  —  Lectures  —  Appointment  of  Associates,  a  Librarian  and 
Honorary  Members  —  The  early  Home  of  the  Academy  —  TJie  Annual 
Dinner  —  Proposal  made  by  the  Academicians  to  Decorate  St.  Paul's  — 
The  Society  of  Arts  —  The  Pension  Fund  established  —  The  Pall-Mail 
Exhibitions  until  1779  —  The  removal  to  Somerset  House,  1780  —  Discon- 
tinuance of  Aid  from  the  Privy  Purse  —  Complaints  as  to  Exclusion  of 
Pictures  —  Peter  Pindar  and  other  Satirists  attack  the  Academy  —  BoydelVs 
Shahspeare  Gallery  —  Interned  Troubles  —  Reynolds' s  Resignation  of  the 
Office  of  President,  and  Re-acceptance  of  it  —  His  last  Discourse  —  Changes 
in  the  Academy  by  Death  of  Original,  and  Election  of  New  Members  — 
Succession  of  Officers  —  The  Exhibitions  from  1781  to  1791. 

WITHIN   a   month   of  the  foundation  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  arrangements  were  made  for  opening  the 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  students,  consisting  of  an 


On.  V.] 


OPENING   OF  THE  ACADEMY 


125 


antique  academy  and  a  school  for  the  living  model, — the 
former  presided  over  by  the  keeper,  the  latter  by  a  suc- 
cession of  nine  visitors.  They  were  situated  at  that  time 


View  of  ilir  i.ltl  Unyftl  Ariulrniy  111   Pall  Mail 


in  some  large  chambers  built  for  an  auctioneer  in  Pall 
Mall,  "  opposite  Market  Lane,"  and  adjacent  to  Old  Carlton 
House,  the  site  being  a  little  to  the  eastward  of  that  now 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

occupied  by  the  United  Service  Club.     Between  it  and 
the  royal  residence  the  trees  were  visible  from  the  road. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  first  public  assembly  (the 
2nd  of  January,  1769),  that  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  —  on 
whom  the  King  had  graciously  conferred  the  honour  of 
knighthood  as  President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy — deli- 
vered the  first  of  those  fifteen  discourses  which  have  ever 
since  that  time  been  held  in  high  repute  as  sources  of 
much  valuable  instruction  to  students  in  the  principles  of 
art.  Naturally  enough  the  President's  first  thoughts  were 
of  the  institution  which  he  was  then  to  inaugurate,  for  he 
commenced  by  saying  that  "An  academy  in  which  the 
polite  arts  may  be  regularly  cultivated  is  at  last  opened 
among  us  by  Koyal  munificence.  This  must  appear  an 
event  in  the  highest  degree  interesting,  not  only  to  the 
artist,  but  to  the  whole  nation.  .  .  .  We  are  happy 
in  having  a  prince  who  has  conceived  the  design  of  such 
an  institution  according  to  its  true  dignity,  and  who  pro- 
motes the  arts  as  the  head  of  a  great,  a  learned,  a  polite, 
and  a  commercial  nation.  .  .  .  The  numberless  and 
ineffectual  consultations  which  I  have  had  with  many  in 
this  assembly  to  form  plans  and  concert  schemes  for  an 
academy  afford  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  impossibility  of 
succeeding  but  by  the  influence  of  Majesty.  But  there 
have,  perhaps,  been  times  when  even  the  influence  of 
Majesty  would  have  been  ineffectual ;  and  it  is  pleasing  to 
reflect  that  we  are  thus  embodied,  when  every  circum- 
stance seems  to  concur  from  which  honour  and  prosperity 
can  possibly  arise.  There  are  at  this  time  a  greater  num- 
ber of  excellent  artists  than  were  ever  known  before  at 
one  period  in  this  nation ;  there  is  a  general  desire  among 
our  nobility  to  be  distinguished  as  lovers  and  judges  of 
the  arts ;  there  is  a  greater  superfluity  of  wealth  among 
the  people  to  reward  the  professors;  and,  above  all,  we 
are  patronised  by  a  monarch  who,  knowing  the  value  of 
science  and  of  elegance,  thinks  every  art  worthy  of  his 
notice  that  tends  to  soften  and  humanise  the  mind.  After 


CH.  V.]  REYNOLDS'S  FIRST  ADDRESS  127 

so  much  has  been  done  by  his  Majesty,  it  will  be  wholly 
our  fault  if  our  progress  is  not  in  some  degree  correspon- 
dent to  the  wisdom  and  generosity  of  the  institution;  let 
us  show  our  gratitude  in  our  diligence  that,  though  our 
merit  may  not  answer  his  expectations,  yet  at  least  our 
industry  may  deserve  his  protection.  But,  whatever  may 
be  our  proportion  of  success,  of  this  we  may  be  sure,  that 
the  present  institution  will  at  least  contribute  to  advance 
our  knowledge  of  the  arts,  and  bring  us  nearer  to  that 
ideal  excellence  which  it  is  the  lot  of  genius  always  to 
contemplate  and  never  to  attain."  As  to  the  purposes  to 
be  attained  by  the  schools  then  opened,  he  stated  that 
"  The  principal  advantage  of  an  academy  is  that,  besides 
furnishing  able  men  to  direct  the  student,  it  will  be  a  re- 
pository for  the  great  examples  of  the  art.  These  are  the 
materials  on  which  genius  is  to  work,  and  without  which 
the  strongest  intellect  may  be  fruitlessly  or  deviously 
employed.  By  studying  these  authentic  models,  that  idea 
of  excellence,  which  is  the  result  of  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience of  past  ages,  may  be  at  once  acquired;  and  the 
tardy  and  obstructed  progress  of  our  predecessors  may 
teach  us  a  shorter  and  easier  way."  In  conformity  with 
this  principle  so  much  insisted  upon  in  all  the  discourses 
of  the  first  President,  he  enjoins  upon  the  students  "  an 
implicit  obedience  to  the  rules  of  art,  as  established  on 
the  practice  of  the  great  masters, — that  those  models 
which  have  passed  through  the  approbation  of  ages  should 
be  considered  by  them  as  perfect  and  infallible  guides ; " 
and  he  concluded  his  first  address  by  expressing  the  hope 
"  that  this  institution  may  answer  the  expectation  of  its 
Royal  founder;  that  the  present  age  may  vie  in  arts  with 
that  of  Leo  X. ;  and  that  l  the  dignity  of  the  dying  art ' 
(to  make  use  of  an  expression  of  Pliny)  may  be  revived 
under  the  reign  of  George  III." 

The  next  step  taken  by  the  academicians  after  the 
opening  of  the  schools  was  to  institute  the  class  of  mem- 
bers designated  "Associate  Engravers,"  to  remove  the 
complaints  which  had  been  urged  by  that  branch  of  the 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

profession  against  their  exclusion  under  the  instrument  of 
foundation.  How  keenly  engravers  felt  their  exclusion 
from  the  Eoyal  Academy  may  be  gathered  from  the  tone 
of  Sir  Eobert  Strange  (who  had  attained  to  considerable 
eminence  in  his  branch  of  art,  and  whose  engravings  are 
very  admirable),  in  the  pamphlet  he  published  on  the 
subject,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  The 
regulation  by  which  "a  number  of  engravers,  not  ex- 
ceeding six,  shall  be  admitted  Associates  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,"  was  passed  on  the  25th  of  March,  1769,  and 
five  elections  of  members  of  that  class  took  place  in  the 
following  year,  and  a  sixth  in  1771. 

Arrangements  for  the  opening  of  an  annual  exhibition 
next  occupied  attention,  and  a  public  announcement  of 
the  intention  was  made  in  March  1769,  by  the  following 
advertisement  :— 

"  Royal  Academy,  Pall  Mall. 

"  The  President  and  Council  give  notice  that  their  Exhibition 
will  open  on  the  26th  of  April  next.  Those  artists  who  intend 
to  exhibit  with  the  Academicians  are  desired  to  send  their  several 
works  to  the  Koyal  Academy,  in  Pall  Mall,  on  Thursday,  the 
13th  of  April,  or  before  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  Friday  the 
14th ;  after  which  time  no  performance  will  be  received. 

"N.B. — No  copies,  nor  any  pictures  without  frames,  will  be 
admitted." 

The  original  regulations  for  exhibitors  and  the  rules  as 
to  admission  were  as  follows  : — 

"  That  every  performance,  once  delivered  and  admitted  in  the 
Koyal  Exhibition  and  printed  in  the  catalogue,  shall  not  be  taken 
away  on  any  pretence  before  the  exhibition  for  that  year  ends. 

"  No  picture  copied  from  a  picture  or  a  print,  a  drawing  from 
a  drawing,  a  medal  from  a  medal,  a  chasing  from  a  chasing,  a 
model  from  a  model,  or  any  other  species  of  sculpture  or  any 
copy,  be  admitted  to  the  exhibition. 

"The  arranging  or  disposition  of  the  paintings,  sculptures, 
models,  designs  in  architecture,  &c.,  for  public  view  to  be  abso- 
lutely left  to  the  council. 

"  The  council  hath  power  to  reject  any  performance  which 
may  be  offered  to  the  exhibition. 


CH.  V.]  THE  FIRST   EXHIBITION,   1769  129 

"No  picture  to  be  received  without  a  frame. 

"  No  person  shall  be  admitted  into  the  room  before  the  exhi- 
bition opens,  the  council  and  necessary  servants  excepted. 

"  That  the  council  shall  attend  immediately  after  the  time 
limited  for  the  reception  of  the  pictures,  &c.,  is  expired,  to  receive 
or  reject  the  several  performances. 

"  That  no  picture,  &c.  &c.,  shall  be  received  after  the  time 
limited  for  the  reception  is  expired. 

"  Exhibitors  shall  have  free  admittance  during  the  whole  time 
of  exhibition. 

"  Every  student  in  the  Eoyal  Academy,  not  an  exhibitor,  shall 
have  four  tickets  to  admit  him  four  different  days  to  the  exhi- 
bition." 

On  Wednesday,  the  26th  of  April,  1769,  the  public 
were  admitted  to  the  first  exhibition ;  the  preceding 
Monday  had  been  set  apart  for  the  Eoyal  visit,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  their  Majesties  honoured  the  exhi- 
bition with  their  presence  till  Thursday,  the  25th  of  May, 
on  which  day  it  was  closed  to  the  public.  A  guard  or 
sentinel  was  ordered  to  attend  on  that  occasion ;  and  the 
practice  of  stationing  sentries  at  the  doors  during  the  ex- 
hibition has  ever  since  been  continued.  The  exhibition 
was  not  closed  till  Saturday,  the  27th  of  May,  having 
been  kept  open  for  four  weeks  and  four  days. 

On  the  evening  of  the  opening  day  an  elegant  enter- 
tainment was  provided  at  the  St.  Alban's  Tavern,  to 
commemorate  this  auspicious  commencement  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds 
presided  on  the  occasion,  and  several  of  the  nobility  and 
many  of  the  aristocracy  who  were  patrons  and  lovers  of 
the  fine  arts  were  present  to  give  eclat  to  the  proceedings. 
The  event  was  celebrated  also  by  songs  and  odes,  com- 
posed expressly  for  the  occasion. ' 


The 


NVtflri'li-d  K.  Hill-  In-Ill    hid 

Ami  iilrmil  with  nnuiil»li 
Apollo  wept  hi-  I. n.k 


eful  Influence  sheil 
ii-e  and  tif  Art, 

ro<i|tjnur   hr:ul. 

rery  tuneful  heart  : 
ii  lyre. 


written  by  Dr.  Franklin,  January  1, 
1709,  on  the  institution  of  the  new 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  by  hb 

Majesty :  —  And  In  their  Bcata  to  tee  Alecto  reign." 

VOL.   I.  K 


130 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 


The  catalogue  was  then,  as  now,  published  in  quarto, 
and  was  simply  entitled  "The  Exhibition  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  1769."  It  was  sold  for  sixpence;  and  the 
pictures,  &c.  in  it  were  arranged  under  the  names  of  the 
artists,  alphabetically  placed,  with  their  addresses  inserted 
after  their  names,  and  the  Academicians  distinguished  by 
the  letters  A.E.A.  An  advertisement  preceded  the  list 
of  pictures,  offering  an  apology  for  making  the  now  cus- 
tomary charge  of  one  shilling  for  admission  :  — 

"  ADVERTISEMENT. 

"  As  the  present  exhibition  is  a  part  of  the  institution  of  an 
Academy  supported  by  Koyal  munificence,  the  public  may 
naturally  expect  the  liberty  of  being  admitted  without  any 
expense. 


•  When  lo !  Britannia  to  the  throne 

Of  goodness  makes  her  sorrows  known  ; 
For  never  there  did  grief  complain, 
Or  injured  merit  plead  in  vain. 

The  monarch  heard  her  just  request, 

He  saw,  he  felt,  and  he  redress'd  : 

Quick  with  a  master  hand  he  tunes  the  strings, 
And  harmony  from  discord  springs. 

"  Thus  good,  by  heaven's  command,  from  evil 

flows; 

From  chaos,  thus  of  old,  creation  rose ; 
When  order  with  confusion  join'd, 
And  jarring  elements  combined, 
To  grace  with  mutual  strength  the  great  design, 
And  speak  the  Architect  divine. 

"  Whilst  Eastern  tyrants  in  the  trophied  car 
Wave  the  red  banner  of  destructive  war, 

In  George's  breast  a  noble  flame 

Is  kindled,  and  a  fairer  flame 

Excites  to  cherish  native  worth, 
To  call  the  latent  seeds  of  genius  forth, 

To  bid  discordant  factions  cease, 
And  cultivate  the  gentler  arts  of  peace. 

And  lo  !  from  this  auspicious  day, 
The  sun  of  science  teams  a  purer  ray. 

"  Behold,  a  brighter  train  of  years, 
A  new  Augustan  age  appears ; 

The  time,  nor  distant  far,  shall  come, 

When  England's  tasteful  youth  no  more 

Shall  wander  to  Italia's  classic  shore  ; 

No  more  to  foreign  climes  shall  roam 

In  search  of  models  better  found  at  home. 

"  With  rapture  the  prophetic  muse 
Her  country's  opening  glory  views, 
Already  sees,  with  wondering  eyes, 
Our  Titians  and  our  Guides  rise : 
Sees  new  Palladios  grace  th'  historic  page, 
And  British  Raphaels  charm  a  future  age. 

'  Meantime,  ye  sons  of  Art,  your  offerings  bring, 
To  grace  your  patron  and  your  King, 
Bid  sculpture  grave  his  honour'd  name 
In  marble,  lasting  as  his  fame  : 
Bid  painting's  magic  pencil  trace 
The  features  of  his  darling  race, 
And  as  it  flows  through  all  the  royal  line, 
Glow  with  superior  warmth  and  energy  divine. 
If  towering  architecture  still 
Can  boast  her  old  creative  skill, 
Bid  some  majestic  structure  rise  to  view, 
Worthy  him  and  worthy  you, 


Where  Art  may  join  with  nature  and  with  sense, 
Splendour  with  grace,  witli  taste  magnificence, 
Where  strength  may  be  with  elegance  combined, 
The  perfect  image  of  its  master's  mind. 

"  And  oh  !  if  with  the  tuneful  throng 
The  muse  may  dare  to  mix  her  humble  song, 
In  your  glad  train  permit  her  to  appear, 
Tho'  poor,  yet  willing,  and  tho'  rude,  sincere, 
To  praise  the  sovereign  whom  her  heart  approves, 
And  pay  this  tribute  to  the  Arts  she  loves." 


Song  composed  by  Mr.  Hull,  and 
sung  by  Mr.  Vernon,  at  the  feast  of 
the  Royal  Academy,  26th  April, 
1769:  — 


"  Let  Science  hail  this  happy  year, 

Let  fame  its  rising  glories  sing, 

When  Arts  unwonted  lustre  wear, 

And  boast  a  patron  in  their  King : 
And  here  unrivall'd  shall  they  reign, 
For  George  protects  the  polish'd  train. 

"  To  you  just  ripen'd  into  birth, 

He  gives  the  fair,  the  great  design ; 
'Tis  yours,  ye  sires  of  genuine  birth, 

To  bid  the  future  artists  shine  : 
That  Arts  unrivall'd  long  may  reign, 
Where  George  protects  the  polish'd  train. 

'"Tis  yours,  oh,  well  selected  band, 

To  watch  where  infant  genius  blows  ; 
To  rear  the  flower  with  fost'ring  hand, 

And  every  latent  sweet  disclose  : 
That  Arts  unrivall'd  long  may  reign, 
Where  George  protects  the  polish'd  train. 

"  No  more  to  distant  realms  repair 

For  foreign  aid,  or  borrow'd  rule, 
Beneath  her  monarch's  generous  care, 

Britannia  founds  a  nobler  school, 
Where  Arts  unrivall'd  shall  remain, 
For  George  protects  the  polish'd  train. 

"  So  shall  her  sons  in  science  bred, 

Diffuse  her  Arts  from  shore  to  shore  ; 
And  wide  her  growing  genius  spread, 

As  round  the  world  her  thunders  roar : 
For  lie,  who  rules  the  subject  main, 
Great  George,  protects  the  polish'd  train." 


CH.  V.]  THE  FIRST  EXHIBITION,  1769  131 

"  The  Academicians,  therefore,  think  it  necessary  to  declare 
that  this  was  very  much  their  desire,  but  they  have  not  been 
able  to  suggest  any  other  means  than  that  of  receiving  money  for 
admittance,  to  prevent  the  rooms  from  being  filled  by  improper 
persons,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  those  for  whom  the  exhibition 
is  apparently  intended." 

The  number  of  works  contained  in  the  first  exhibition 
was  136.  Of  these  79  were  contributed  by  members  of 
the  Academy,  and  57  by  other  exhibitors.  In  this 
number  were  40  portraits  and  48  landscapes,  22  pieces 
on  subjects  from  history,  scripture,  and  poetry,  5  pictures 
of  animals  and  flowers,  9  pieces  of  sculpture,  2  specimens 
of  die-engraving,  and  10  architectural  subjects.  Glancing 
through  the  catalogue,  we  see  that  there  were  many 
works  which  would  still  attract  especial  attention, — four 
of  Eeynolds's  graceful  portraits  of  ladies,  seven  of  Francis 
Cotes's  admirable  portraits,  several  of  them  in  crayons,  in 
which  he  especially  excelled ;  and  three  by  Gainsborough, 
whose  portraits  were  equal  in  excellence  to  his  charming 
landscapes.  There  were  two  pictures  by  West — the  '  Ee- 
gulus'  already  referred  to1,  and  'Venus  lamenting  the 
Death  of  Adonis : '  landscapes  by  George  Barret,  Gains- 
borough, Paul  Sandby,  Dominic  Serres,  Eichard  Wilson, 
and  Zuccarelli :  and  several  poetical  pieces  by  Barto- 
lozzi,  Cipriani,  and  Angelica  Kauffman. 

The  exhibition  met  with  general  approval ;  and  one  of 
the  periodicals  of  the  day  remarked  that  "  the  encourage- 
ment given  to  this  infant  institution  by  Eoyal  patronage  is 
already  visible  in  the  works  of  genius  there  exhibited." 
By  the  mezzotinto  print  engraved  by  Earloin,  after  a  pic- 
ture by  Brandoin,  of  the  interior  of  the  exhibition  in 
1771,  the  room  in  which  it  was  held  appears  to  have 
been  a  small  one,  some  thirty  feet  long,  lighted  by  a  raised 
central  skylight. 

Although  numerically  small,  there  was  so  much  of  real 


1  See  pa^e.  67. 
K  2 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

art  to  be  seen  that  we  do  not  wonder  that  in  little  more 
than  a  month  the  proceeds  of  the  first  exhibition  amounted 
to  £699  17s.  Qd.  The  expenses  attending  it  were  £116 
14s.  2d.,  leaving  a  surplus  of  £583  3s.  4c£  Out  of  this 
sum  grants  were  made  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition  to 
26  of  the  applicants  (artists,  their  widows  or  children) 
who  were  to  receive  assistance  out  of  the  profits  arising 
from  the  exhibition,  in  accordance  with  the  17th  section 
of  the  Instrument  of  Institution.  Two  persons  received 
each  10  guineas ;  two  8  guineas ;  one  7  guineas  ;  three 
6  guineas ;  twelve  5  guineas ;  and  six  3  guineas  each, 
making  a  distribution  of  £145  19s.  All  the  recipients 
of  these  gifts  were  unconnected  with  the  Eoyal  Academy. 
Subsequent  donations  of  eleven  guineas  were  made ;  and 
the  son  of  a  painter,  William  Brooking,  was  apprenticed 
to  Mr.  S.  Waddon,  a  peruke  maker,  for  seven  years,  the 
Academy  paying  eleven  guineas  as  a  fee,  and  holding 
the  indentures,  the  treasurer  being  appointed  to  inquire 
from  time  to  time  as  to  his  treatment ;  the  only  instance 
of  such  a  mode  of  relieving  artists'  families  recorded. 
The  remainder  of  the  fund  was  applied  towards  the 
general  expenses  of  the  Academy.  These  so  far  ex- 
ceeded the  receipts  that  a  sum  of  £903  17s.  Id.  was 
granted  from  the  privy  purse  in  this  the  first  year  of  its 
existence,  and  hence  the  gifts  above  referred  to  were 
rightly  designated  at  that  time  as  "  Eoyal  charities,"  since 
the  Academy  did  not  then  possess  the  means  of  bestow- 
ing aid  to  necessitous  artists  or  their  families  out  of  its 
own  unaided  funds. 

The  series  of  lectures  was  commenced  on  the  6th  of 
October,  1769,  by  Dr.  Hunter,  the  Professor  of  Anatomy, 
whose  discourses  were  foUowed  by  those  of  the  Professors 
of  Painting,  Architecture  and  Perspective,  delivered  by 
Edward  Penny,  Thomas  Sandby,  and  Samuel  Wale  re- 
spectively. Each  series  consisted  of  six  lectures,  which 
were  continued  weekly  in  succession  during  the  winter 
months. 


CH.  V.]  FIRST   STUDENTS  AND  PRIZES  133 

In  the  first  year  of  the  existence  of  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy 77  students  were  admitted  into  its  schools.  Of 
these  36  studied  painting,  10  sculpture,  3  architecture, 
and  4  engraving :  the  department  of  art  chosen  by  the 
remainder  is  not  specified  in  the  records.  Among  these 
first  students  were  many  of  the  future  members  of  the 
Academy.  John  Bacon,  Thomas  Banks,  Richard  Cosway, 
Francis  Wheatley,  Edward  Burch,  John  Yenn,  William 
Hamilton,  Philip  Reinagle,  Joseph  Farington,  and  John 
Flaxman  became  Academicians :  and  W.  Parry,  J.  Nixon, 
E.  Martin,  J.  Downman,  W.  Pars,  E.  Edwards,  and  B. 
Rebecca  attained  the  rank  of  Associates.  Three  gold  and 
seven  silver  medals  were  awarded  the  first  year.  The 
gold  medals  were  gained  by  John  Bacon,  Mauritius  Lowe, 
and  James  Gandon :  the  silver  medals  by  Joseph  Strutt, 
M.  Liart,  J.  Kitchinman,  J.  Grassi,  M.  P.  van  Gelder, 
J.  Flaxman,  and  T.  Hardwick. l 

On  the  distribution  of  the  prizes  to  the  students  on  the 
llth  December,  1769,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  delivered  the 
second  of  his  discourses,  suggesting  to  the  students  the 
course  and  order  of  study,  the  different  stages  of  art,  and 
the  necessity  for  artists  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  to 
lay  up  materials  for  the  exercise  of  their  art.  A  general 
assembly  of  the  Academicians  was  held  (and  has  ever 
since  been  held  annually  on  the  foundation  day)  to  elect 
the  President  for  the  ensuing  year,  as  well  as  to  distribute 
the  prizes  to  the  students  and  hear  the  President's  address. 

On  the  same  day  the  election  of  associates  was  deter- 
mined upon,  and  the  following  rules  were  made  as  to 
the  conditions  of  membership  for  this  new  order:— 

"  There  shall  be  a  new  order,  or  rank  of  members,  to  be  called 
associates  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

1  A  list  of  the  students  to  whom  necessary  to  print  them  in  detail, 

gold  medals  have  been  awarded  is  In  ninety  years   (1709 — 1860)  604 

appended  to  this  work.     The  num-  silver  medals  have  been  distributed, 

her  of  silver  medals  distributed  is  so  besides  1  IS  gold  medals, 
large,  that  it  has  not  been  thought 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V, 

"  They  shall  be  elected  from  amongst  the  exhibitors,  and 
be  entitled  to  every  advantage  enjoyed  by  the  Royal  Academi- 
cians, excepting  that  of  having  a  voice  in  the  deliberations,  or 
any  share  in  the  government  of  the  Academy ;  neither  shall 
they  have  admittance  to  the  library  but  on  the  public  days,  or 
the  liberty  of  introducing  strangers  to  the  lectures. 

"  These  associates  shall  be  artists  by  profession,  viz.  painters, 
sculptors,  or  architects. 

"  They  shall  be  balloted  for  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Acade- 
micians are,  and  be  elected  by  the  majority  of  the  members 
balloting. 

"  The  number  of  these  associates  shall  not  exceed  twenty. 

"  No  apprentice,  nor  any  person  under  the  age  of  twenty,  to 
be  admitted  an  associate. 

"  Every  associate  shall  be  obliged  to  exhibit  at  least  one  per- 
formance in  every  exhibition.  Omitting  so  to  do  (without 
showing  sufficient  cause)  he  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  21.  10s.  to 
be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  Academy. 

"  The  exhibitors  who  desire  to  become  associates,  shall,  within 
one  month  after  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  write  their  names  on 
a  list,  which  list  shall  be  put  up  in  the  great  room  of  the 
Academy  for  that  purpose,  which  shall  remain  there  two  months. 
At  the  end  of  which  time,  being  three  months  after  the  close 
of  the  exhibition,  a  general  assembly  shall  be  held  for  the 
purpose  of  electing  associates ;  of  which  day  a  month's  notice 
shall  be  given  to  all  the  Academicians,  with  a  list  of  the  candi- 
dates enclosed. 

"  That  the  vacant  seats  of  Academicians  shall  be  filled  from 
these  associates  only." 

It  was  also  ordered  that  the  election  of  associate  en- 
gravers should  be  conducted  upon  the  same  plan :  and  a 
form  of  preamble  to  the  diploma  of  the  associates  was 
arranged,  to  be  subscribed  by  the  President  and  Secretary 
—that  of  the  academician  only,  requiring  the  signature  of 
the  Sovereign.  It  was  couched  in  the  following  terms :  — 

"  His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to  establish  in 
this,  the  city  of  London,  a  society  for  the  purposes  of  cultivat- 
ing and  improving  the  arts  of  painting,  sculpture,  and  architec- 
ture, under  the  name  and  title  of  The  Eoyal  Academy  of  Arts, 
and  under  his  own  immediate  patronage  and  protection :  And 


CH.  V.]  ASSOCIATES  135 

his  Majesty  having  thought  fit  to  entrust  the  sole  manage- 
ment and  direction  of  the  said  society,  under  himself,  unto 
forty  Academicians,  with  a  power  to  elect  a  certain  number  of 
Associates, 

"  We,  therefore,  the  President  and  Academicians  of  the  said 
Koyal  Academy,  by  virtue  of  the  said  power,  and  in  considera- 
tion of  your  skill  in  the  art  of  do,  by  these 
presents,  constitute  and  appoint  you, 

gentleman,  to  be  one  of  the  Associates  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
hereby  granting  unto  you  all  the  privileges  thereof,  according 
to  the  tenor  of  the  laws  relating  to  the  admission  of  associates, 
made  in  the  general  assembly  of  the  Academicians,  and  con- 
firmed by  his  Majesty's  sign  manual.  In  consequence  of  this 
resolution  you  are  required  to  sign  the  obligation  in  the  manner 
prescribed,  and  the  Secretary  is  hereby  directed  to  insert  your 
name  in  the  roll  of  the  Associates." 

The  form  of  Obligation  for  Associates  runs  thus :  — 

"  His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to  institute  a 
society  for  promoting  the  arts  of  design,  under  the  name  and 
title  of  The  Royal  Academy  of  Arts  in  London,  and  having  signi- 
fied his  Royal  intention  that  the  said  society  should  be  governed 
by  certain  laws  and  regulations,  contained  in  the  instrument  of 
the  establishment,  signed  by  his  Majesty's  own  hand,  and  having 
empowered  the  President  and  Academicians  to  elect  a  certain 
number  of  Associates, 

"  We,  therefore,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed, 
being  duly  elected  Associates  of  the  said  Royal  Academy, 
do  promise,  each  for  himself,  to  observe  all  the  laws  and  re- 
gulations contained  in  the  said  instrument,  as  also  all  other 
laws,  bye-laws,  and  regulations,  either  made,  or  hereafter 
to  be  made  for  the  better  government  of  the  above-mentioned 
society ;  promising  furthermore,  on  every  occasion,  to  employ 
our  utmost  endeavours  to  promote  the  honour  and  interest  of  the 
establishment,  as  long  as  we  shall  continue  members  thereof." 

Of  the  new  members  thus  introduced  into  the  Royal 
Academy  in  the  year  1770,  sixteen  were  associates,  and 
five  associate  engravers.  The  full  number  of  twenty  asso- 
ciates was  not  completed  till  1773,  nor  the  six  associate 
engravers  till  the  year  1771. 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

The  first  twenty  Associates  were  :  — 

1770  Edward  Burch,  afterwards  R.A. 


Richard  Cosway  „  R.A. 

John  Bacon  „  R.A. 

Edward  Garvey  „  R.A. 

James  Wyatt  R.A. 


j  A.: 


Edward  Stevens 
George  James 
Elias  Martin 
Antonio  Zucchi 
Michael  Angelo  Rooker 


1770  William  Pars 

1771  William  Tomkins 

„     J.  Nollekens,  afterwards  R.A. 
„     W.  Peters  „          R.A. 

„     N.  T.  Dall 
„     B.  Rebecca 

1772  J.  Barry,          afterwards  R.A. 
„     J.  F.  Rigand  „          R.A. 
„     John  Russell  „          R.A. 
„     Stephen  Elmer 


The  first  six  Associate  Engravers  were : 


1770  Thomas  Major 
„     Simon  Ravenet 
P.  C.  Canot 


1770  John  Browne 

„     Thomas  Chambers 
1775  Valentine  Green 


By  these  new  appointments  the  Academicians  were 
strengthened  both  by  the  acquisition  of  fresh  artistic 
power,  and  by  the  removal  of  the  objections  which  had 
been  made  to  their  previous  apparent  exclusiveness.  En- 
gravers, if  not  satisfied,  were  at  least  content  to  find  them- 
selves assigned  a  place  in  the  Eoyal  institution  for  the 
promotion  of  the  arts  ;  and  the  rising  aspirants  for  honours 
might  hope  both  for  ample  employment  and  fame  by  con- 
nection with  those  who  had  already  attained  to  the  high 
dignity  which  the  Crown  had  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon 
the  professors  of  the  arts. 

The  office  of  Librarian  was  established  in  1770,  the 
Sovereign  having  appointed  Francis  Hayman,  E.A.,  to  fill 
that  appointment  by  the  following  order  :  —  "  His  Majesty 
having  thought  fit  to  establish  a  place  of  Librarian  to  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  with  a  salary  of  50£  per  annum,  and  it 
being  his  gracious  intention  that  the  said  place  should 
always  be  held  by  some  Academician  whose  abilities  and 
assiduity  in  promoting  the  arts  had  long  rendered  him 
conspicuous,  he  has  now  appointed  Francis  Hayman,  Esq., 
E.A.,  ordering  that  his  salary  should  commence  from 
Midsummer  last." 

The  first  appointment  to  the  office  of  Secretary  for 
foreign  correspondence  was  made  in  1769,  by  the  nomi- 


CH.  V.]  HONORARY  MEMBERS  137 

nation  of  JOSEPH  BAEETTI  '  to  that  office ;  and  in  the 
following  year  the  honorary  membership  was  instituted  by 
the  appointment  of  Dr.  SAMUEL  JOHNSON  to  the  professor- 
ship of  Ancient  Literature  ;  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH  to  that  of 
Ancient  History ;  and  EICHAKD  DALTON  2,  as  Antiquarian. 
Many  illustrious  names  have  subsequently  been  associated 
with  those  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians  in  these  honorary 
offices 3,  and  it  was  a  happy  thought  on  the  part  of  the 
members  of  the  new  art-institution,  thus  early  to  gather 
round  them  the  great  minds  of  the  age,  to  blend  literature 
with  art,  and  to  honour  themselves  in  doing  honour  to  the 
giant  intellect  of  Johnson,  and  to  the  gentle  Goldsmith, 
who,  writing  to  his  brother  in  regard  to  his  appointment 
to  this  office,  thus  playfully  referred  to  his  poverty,  as  a 
contrast  to  the  dignity  to  which  he  had  attained  :  "  The 
King  has  lately  been  pleased  to  make  me  professor  of 
Ancient  History  in  a  Eoyal  Academy  of  painting  which  he 
has  just  established,  but  there  is  no  salary  annexed,  and  I 
took  it  rather  as  a  compliment  to  the  institution  than  any 
benefit  to  myself.  Honours  to  one  in  my  situation,  are 
something  like  ruffles  to  a  man  that  wants  a  shirt." 

Yet,  if  the  honour  conferred  no  emolument,  it  at  all 
events  gave  the  professor  of  Ancient  Literature  a  place  at 
the  annual  festival,  which  was  first  held  in  the  following 
year  within  the  walls  of  the  Academy —  a  privilege  to  be 
esteemed  at  all  times  for  the  sake  of  the  distinguished 


1  Born  at  Turin,   1716;   died   in  gave  evidence  in  his  favour  on  that 

1789.     He  was  the  author  of  many  occasion. 

books  connected  with  Italy  and  its  *  He  was  librarian  to  George  III., 

literature,  and  the  compiler  of  the  and  afterwards  keeper  of  the  collec- 

well-known  dictionary.     One  even-  tion  of  drawings,  models,  &c.,  which 

ing,  on  going  to  the  Academy,  he  he  made  for  the  king  in  Italy  and 

was  attacked  by  several  men  in  a  Greece.   He  published  several  works 

street  brawl.     He  defended  himself  on  antiaue  statues,  Egyptian  man- 

with  his  penknife,  and  one  of  his  ners  ana  customs,  Turkish  ceremo- 

assailants    afterwards   died   from   a  nies,  &c.     In  early  life  he  was  him- 

wound  he    then  received.      Baretti  self  an  artist,   and  was  for  a  time 

was  tried  for  murder,  defended  him-  treasurer  of  the  Incorporated  Society 

self  on  the  trial,  and  was  acquitted  of  Artists, 

by  the  jury.     I>r.  Johnson,  Burke,  '  See  Appendix, 
and  Garrick   were  his  friends,   and 


138  HISTORY    OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

company  which  is  then  assembled,  but  especially  grateful 
to  one  with  the  feelings  and  in  the  untoward  circum- 
stances of  the  author  of  the  "  Vicar  of  Wakefield." 

The  second  exhibition,  in  1770,  shows  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  works  exhibited,  which  then  amounted  to 
234,  and  which  filled  all  available  space,  as  11  were 
omitted  though  included  in  the  catalogue ;  and  8  of  these 
were  the  productions  of  Academicians  who  had  resigned 
their  own  privileges  of  displaying  their  works  to  make 
room  for  others.  The  catalogue  followed  the  plan  of 
arrangement  of  its  predecessor,  and  included  8  portrait 
pictures  by  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  11  by  Francis  Cotes, 
3  by  Eichard  Cosway,  3  by  Nathaniel  Dance,  and  5  by 
Gainsborough,  besides  a  "  book  of  drawings  "  and  a  land- 
scape by  the  latter ;  views  by  George  Barret,  Paul  Sandby, 
and  Eichard  Wilson ;  figure  subjects  by  Cipriani,  Hayman, 
Angelica  Kauffman,  Edward  Penny,  Johann  Zoffanij,  F. 
Zuccarelli,  and  others ;  architectural  drawings  by  William 
Chambers,  George  Dance,  and  Thomas  Sandby ;  and  the 
drawing  by  Cipriani,  together  with  a  print  from  it,  by 
Bartolozzi,  of  the  "  Head-piece  of  the  diploma  given  by 
his  Majesty  to  the  Academicians."  The  receipts  amounted 
to  £971  6s. ;  and,  after  deducting  expenses  amounting  to 
£192  Os.  7|;C?.,  making  grants  of  relief  to  the  extent 
of  £173  5s.,  and  paying  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
schools  and  management,  there  was  still  a  deficiency  of 
£727  14s.  11^ d.  to  be  defrayed  from  the  privy  purse  of 
the  Eoyal  founder. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  distribution  of  the  prizes  to  the 
students  on  the  10th  December,  1770,  Sir  Joshua  Eey- 
nolds delivered  his  third  discourse,  taking  for  his  subject 
the  question  of  what  is  understood  by  the  "  grand  style  " 
in  art,  and  showing  that  the  perfect  idea  of  beauty  must 
be  obtained  by  the  artist  in  the  study  of  the  genuine 
habits  of  Nature  as  distinguished  from  all  influences  of 
custom  or  fashion.  The  first  impressions  from  the  dies  for 
the  medals  designed  by  Cipriani,  and  executed  by  Mr. 


CH.  V.]          REMOVAL  TO  OLD  SOMERSET  HOUSE 


139 


Pingo,  were  distributed  on  this  occasion.  It  would  seem 
that  for  some  years  the  prizes  awarded  by  the  Society  of 
Arts  seemed  to  have  been  preferred  to  these  honours 
bestowed  by  the  Eoyal  Academy,  probably  from  no  other 
reason  than  that  the  money  which  the  former  bestowed 
was  more  acceptable  to  needy  young  aspirants  than  the 
medals  of  the  latter. 

Early  in  the  year  1771  the  King  gave  an  additional  proof 
of  his  interest  in  the  Academy  by  directing  the  Lord  Cham- 


Portion  of  Old  Somerset  House,  occupied  l>y  the  Royal  Academy 

berlain  to  appropriate  to  its  use  apartments  in  his  palace 
at  Somerset  House, —  the  old  building  which  became  the 
hereditary  property  of  the  Crown  on  the  attainder  of  the 
Duke  of  Somerset  in  1552,  and  which  was  subsequently 
given  up  by  King  George  III.  to  the  Government,  in  order 
that  it  might  become  the  site  of  Government  offices,  re- 
serving to  himself,  however,  the  right  of  appropriating  a 
part  of  the  new  building,  when  completed,  to  the  Royal 
Academy  and  other  learned  societies.  Until  1780,  when 


ROYAL  ACADLMi",  Somcrfet  Hcufe, 
Tap.    9,     1771 

NOT:Cr;  is  hereby  givsn  to  the   MEM- 
BERS affd  S  >  UUENTp.  tha'  tlisACADEMV 
i$  removc-1  to  SOMERSET    ;»>U*E    ->nci  -.<  ill   open 
oil  N'.v)NDAV  r.sxt  the  i4th  1  ift.  nt  jr'ivs  o'Cl.  c     irt 
the  Afternoon. 

F.  M.  NEW  TOM,  Sec. 


with. 

his  Royal  Highnefs  the  Duke  erf"  Cumber- 
land has  ordered  a  Prcf^nt  of  One  Hundred 
Guineas  to  be  made  to  the  Royal  Academy,  re- 
moved from  Pall-mall  to  Somerfct-houfe. 


'he  D.  of  C.  has  given  100  Guin<e#  Tt 
•al  Academy.  This  is  laudable — '  ^'eF; 
rcYe  ^n  the  Hint,  and  giye  100  G^ice  0! 
HarvKi'^  Poor  ?  v  ^*-*«  -  /7^-  . 


ROYAL  ACAOEMV,  Somerfrt  Hcufs 
March  7,  17-1, 

THE  Prefident  aifi  Council  give  Notice, 
that  t!,e  EXi  '.'2ITIUN  will  bsopeied  on  the 
4th  cf  April,  at  tht     ;ml  E  h/brion  Room    of  the 
4.oyal  Academy  in  P  iLL-MA.  L  ;  where  the  Artifts 
*'ho  intend  to  .    '  i;i.'t  -.-'i:'   t'.e  Academicians  are  de- 
Ired  to  fend  their  fevera  \\  orks  on  i  hurfclay  the  i  ith 
jf  April,  or  before  Six  >'    lock  in  the  Evening  t,f  Fri- 
day the  i  ith  ;  after  whic  i  Ti:ne  nj  Perfcimance  will 
;  received. 

F.  M.  N'.WTON,  Sec.    R.A. 
Nfte,  M«v  Copies  whatever,  nor  any  Imitations  of 
•Pai-.ting   in    Necdie-w«.rk,    artificial   Flowers,    Si  oil- 
work,  or  any  i>'.ii4;  «    th.it  KM  d    will  be  adm/.tcd, 
ner  any  P't&i'  ^s,  ic.  v.-i:hout  Fr.imcs. 


Weddcrburne  was  on  Monday  »\i  Juapp  ,irfled 
Attorney  General,   ^j^  .  /4,'f'ft' 

L«l *  M  nday^the  Acadeniician^fnet  for  the 
hra  Tim:  fince  the  Removal  of  the  Royal  A- 
Cideniy  to  S...merfct  Houfc  :  The  PnrfiJent  on 


140 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 


the  new  building  was  finished,  the  only  rooms  occupied 
by  the  Academy  in  the  old  palace  were  those  for  its 
meetings,  libraries,  schools,  and  lectures,  which  were  for- 
merly in  the  possession  of  Sir  James  Wright, — the  exhi- 
bition being  still  held  in  its  rooms  in  Pall  Mall.  The 
Eoyal  Academy  met  in  their  new  apartments  for  the  first 
time  on  the  14th  January,  1771 ;  his  Eoyal  Highness  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  and  several  of  the  nobility  were  pre- 
sent on  the  occasion.1 

It  was  in  this  year  also  that  the  first  of  those  interesting 
annual  gatherings  —  the  dinner  preceding  the  opening  of 
the  exhibition  —  was  held2,  which  have  ever  since  been 
so  attractive  to  all  those  who  are  privileged  to  be  present 
either  as  members  of  the  Academy  or  as  guests,  and  which 
even  the  public  without  look  forward  to  with  interest, 
since  of  late  years  reports  of  the  proceedings  have  been 
published  in  the  newspapers.  One  who  has  been  favoured 
with  an  invitation  to  meet  that  select  and  talented  com- 
pany has  described  both  the  first  dinner,  and  his  own  im- 
pressions of  the  effect  of  a  similar  gathering  in  later  times, 
so  graphically,  that  we  give  his  account  of  it,  rather  than 
any  dry  detail  of  facts  which  might  be  gathered  from 
other  sources :  — 

"On  St.  Greorge's  Day,  April  23,  1771,  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds 
took  the  chair  at  the  first  annual  dinner  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
when  the  entertainers,  himself  and  his  fellow- Academicians,  sat 
surrounded  by  such  evidences  of  claims  to  admiration  as  their 
own  pencils  had  adorned  the  walls  with,  and  their  guests  were  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  day  —  the  highest  in  rank  and 


1  In  a  letter  from  John  Deare  to 
his  father,  dated  March  24,  1777, 
quoted  in  Smith's  "Npllekens  and 
his  Times,"  vol.  ii.  p.  307,  he  says : — 
"In  my  last  I  promised  you  a  de- 
scription of  the  Royal  Academy.  It 
is  in  Somerset  House,  Strand,  for- 
merly a  palace.  There  is  one  large 
room  for  the  Plaster  Academy ;  one 
for  the  Life  ;  a  large  room  in  which 


lectures  are  given  every  Mondav 
night  hy  Dr.  Hunter  on  Anatomy, 
Wale  on  Perspective,  Penny  on 
Painting,  and  Thomas  Sandby  on 
Architecture." 

2  It  was  resolved  that  twenty-five 
gentlemen  should  be  invited  on  St. 
George's  Day,  and  it  appears  that 
the  dinner  was  charged  at  5s.  a  head 
and  Is.  6d.  the  dessert. 


with.' 

1  is  Royal  Highnefs  the  Duke  of  Cnmber- 
hnd  has  ordered  a  Prcfrnt  of  One  Hundred 
Guineas  to  be  made  to  die  Royal  Academy,  re- 
moved From  Pall-mall  to  Somerfct-ho'ufe. 


'he  D.  of  C.  has  given  100  Guin(e&  T* 
•al  Academy.  This  is  laudable—'  <lie  F: 
rcre  f.-n  the  Hint,  and  give  100  G?'ce  °' 
n/in^  Poor  ?  v  '«***  -  S?},  , 


.1- 


£ 


Weddtrburne  was  on  Monday  ^ii^htapp  ,irtlect 


Attorney  General.  . 

L;iit  M  nday^the  Acadeniicianixfnet  for  *the 
fir.t  Tim:  fince  the  Removal  of  the  Royal  A- 
cidemy  to  Scmerfet  Houfe  :  The  Proficient  on 


FIRST   ANNUAL  DINNER  141 

'"5  ?' 

«••  5"  p"  s  the  highest  in  genius,  the  poet  as  well  as  the  prince,  the  minister 
of  State  and  the  man  of  trade.  Goldsmith  attended  this  and 
every  dinner  until  his  death,  and  so  became  personally  known 
to  several  men  belonging  to  both  parties  in  the  State,  who 
doubtless  at  any  other  time,  or  in  any  other  place,  would  hardly 
have  remembered  or  acknowledged  his  name.  Nor,  it  may  be 
added,  has  the  attraction  of  these  social  meetings  suffered  di- 
minution since.  All  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  invitation  to 
them  can  testify  to  the  interest  they  still  excite ;  to  the  fact  that 
princes  and  painters,  men  of  letters  and  ministers  of  State, 
tradesmen  and  noblemen,  still  assemble  at  that  hospitable  table 
with  objects  of  a  common  admiration  and  sympathy  around 
them  ;  to  the  happy  occasion  that  their  friendly  greetings  afford 
for  the  suspension  of  all  excitements  of  rivalry,  not  between 
artists  or  Academicians  alone,  but  between  the  most  eager  com- 
batants of  public  life,  ministerial  and  ex-ministerial ;  and  to  the 
striking  effect  with  which,  as  the  twilight  of  the  summer  even- 
ing gathers  round  while  the  dinner  is  in  progress,  the  sudden 
lighting  of  the  room  at  its  close,  as  the  President  proposes  the 
health  and  pronounces  the  name  of  the  Sovereign,  appears  to 
give  new  and  startling  life  to  the  forms  and  colours  on  the 
pictured  walls. 

"  Undoubtedly  this  annual  dinner,  then,  must  be  pronounced 
one  of  the  happiest  of  those  devices  of  the  President  by  which  he 
steered  the  new  and  unchartered  Academy  through  the  quick- 
sands and  shoals  that  had  wrecked  the  chartered  institution  out 
of  which  it  rose.  Academies  cannot  create  genius  :  academies 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  begetting  of  Hogarth,  or  Reynolds, 
or  Wilson,  or  Gainsborough,  the  greatest  names  of  our  English 
school ;  but  they  may  assist  in  the  wise  development  of  such 
original  powers,  they  may  guide  and  regulate  their  prudent  and 
successful  application;  and,  aboveall,they  may  and  do  strengthen 
the  painter's  claims  to  consideration  and  esteem,  and  give  to  that 
sense  of  dignity  which  should  invest  every  liberal  art,  and  which 
too  often  passes  for  an  airy  nothing  amid  the  bustle  and  crowd 
of  more  vulgar  pretences,  *  a  local  habitation  and  a  name.'  This 
was  the  main  wise  drift  of  Reynolds  and  his  fellow-labourers ;  it 
was  the  charter  that  held  them  together  in  spite  of  all  their 
later  dissensions ;  and  to  this  day  it  outweighs  the  gravest  fault 
or  disadvantage  which  has  yet  been  charged  against  the  Royal 
Academy. 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

"  A  fragment  of  the  conversation  at  this  first  Academy  dinner 
has  survived ;  and  takes  us  from  it  to  the  darkest  contrast,  to 
the  most  deplorable  picture  of  human  hopelessness  and  misery 
which  even  these  pages  have  described.  Goldsmith  spoke  of  an 
extraordinary  boy  who  had  come  up  to  London  from  Bristol, 
died  very  suddenly  and  miserably,  and  left  a  wonderful  treasure 
of  ancient  poetry  behind  him.  Horace  Walpole  listened  care- 
lessly at  first,  it  would  seem,  but  very  soon  perceived  that  the 
subject  of  conversation  had  a  special  interest  for  himself.  Some 
years  afterwards  he  repeated  what  passed,  with  an  affectation  of 
equanimity  which  even  then  he  did  not  feel.  f  Dining  at  the 
Royal  Academy,'  he  said,  '  Dr.  Goldsmith  drew  the  attention  of 
the  company  with  an  account  of  a  marvellous  treasure  of  ancient 
poems  lately  discovered  at  Bristol,  and  expressed  enthusiastic 
belief  in  them,  for  which  he  was  laughed  at  by  Dr.  Johnson, 
who  was  present.  I  soon  found  this  was  the  trouvaille  of  my 
friend  Chatterton,  and  I  told  Dr.  Goldsmith  that  this  novelty 
was  known  to  me,  who  might,  if  I  had  pleased,  have  had  the 
honour  of  ushering  the  great  discovery  to  the  learned  world. 
You  may  imagine,  Sir,  we  did  not  at  all  agree  in  the  measure  of 
our  faith ;  but  though  his  credulity  diverted  me,  my  mirth  was 
soon  dashed,  for  on  asking  about  Chatterton,  he  told  me  he  had 
been  in  London,  and  had  destroyed  himself.' "  ' 

The  exhibition,  which  was  thus  inaugurated  by  a  fes- 
tive gathering,  showed  a  still  advancing  progress  over 
the  two  preceding  ones ;  256  works  were  exhibited,  and 
16  omitted  from  want  of  space  —  the  difficulty  which  has 
ever  since  been  on  the  increase,  notwithstanding  the  larger 
extent  of  accommodation  subsequently  obtained.  In  these 
early  exhibitions  it  was  not  the  practice  to  name  the  per- 
sons whose  portraits  were  hung  on  the  walls  beyond  that 
of  "  a  lady,"  "  a  nobleman,"  "  a  gentleman,"  &c. ;  and,  to 
satisfy  the  curiosity  of  visitors,  a  key  to  the  catalogue 
was  published  by  Baretti  (the  secretary  for  foreign  cor- 
respondence), giving  the  information  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  several  portraits.  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  this  year  ex- 
hibited several  fancy  subjects  —  as  'Venus  chiding  Cupid 


1  The  "  Life  and  Times   of  Oliver  Goldsmith/'  by  John  Forster :  3rd 
edition,  pp.  .372—4. 


CH.  V.]  EXHIBITION  OF  1771  143 

for  learning  to  cast  accompts,'  '  A  Nymph  and  Bacchus,' 
'  A  Girl  Reading,'  '  An  Old  Man,'  besides  portraits ; 
Mason  Chamberlin,  Cosway,  N.  Dance,  Gainsborough, 
and  N.  Hone,  followed  in  their  own  branch  of  art.  West 
exhibited  nine  historical  pictures,  and  among  them  the 
famous  one  of  '  The  Death  of  General  Wolfe,'  in  which 
he  had  ventured  very  wisely  to  depart  from  the  custom  of 
his  predecessors  by  representing  the  personages  of  the 
story  in  the  modern  costume  of  their  day,  and  not  in  the 
ancient  classic  garb.  Angelica  Kauffman  contributed  six 
works  on  classical  and  poetical  subjects;  and  Wilson, 
Sandby,  Serres,  and  Barret  were  among  the  chief  land- 
scape painters.  The  new  associates  also  contributed  a 
large  share  of  attraction,  and  the  engravers  exhibited 
proofs  of  their  skill.  The  receipts  amounted  to  £1124  5s. ; 
the  expenses  to  £217  9s.  3|^.  Donations  and  grants  to 
the  extent  of  £188  4s.  were  made  at  the  close  of  the  exhi- 
bition, and  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  deficiency  in  the 
funds  for  the  third  time  was  paid  out  of  the  privy  purse 
— the  Eoyal  aid  this  year  amounting  to  £669  13s.  Id. 

It  was  in  this  year,  1771,  that  the  "  Travelling  Student- 
ship "  was  established,  the  appointments  being  made  from 
among  the  gold  medal  students,  and  the  object  being  to 
afford  those  who  gave  promise  of  superior  ability  the 
means  of  studying  their  art  abroad  for  three  years  —  a 
great  boon  to  aspiring  artists.  The  first  selection  proved 
an  unfortunate  one  ;  Mauritius  Lowe,  who  was  appointed 
to  receive  the  salary  of  £60  for  three  years,  having  by  mis- 
conduct forfeited  the  allowance  the  following  year.  On 
his  recall,  the  second  on  the  list  of  successful  competitors 
for  the  gold  medal  —  John  Bacon,  afterwards  the  eminent 
sculptor  —  was  sent  to  Italy  in  his  stead.  The  President 
chose  the  subject  of  "  Invention  in  Painting  "  in  delivering 
his  discourse  to  the  students  when  distributing  the  prizes 
on  the  10th  of  December  of  this  year.  The  schools  still 
continued  to  receive  a  large  number  of  students,  although 
not  so  many  as  on  their  first  opening,  150  having  been 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

admitted  since  their  commencement.  Of  these,  twenty- 
two  eventually  attained  the  rank  of  Associate  or  Acade- 
mician, and  many  won  for  their  names  an  enduring 
remembrance  as  masters  of  their  art. 

In  1772  the  fourth  exhibition  was  held,  presenting 
no  new  features,  but  increasing  the  number  of  works 
displayed  to  310,  besides  14  additional  paintings  omitted 
for  want  of  room.  Six  of  Eeynolds's  ever  attractive 
portraits,  several  of  Gainsborough's  graceful  delineations 
of  ladies  and  10  drawings  of  landscapes,  besides  10 
large  historical  compositions  by  West  and  Angelica 
Kauffman,  would  alone  in  our  own  day  render  an  exhi- 
bition attractive.  Barry,  then  beginning  to  obtain  cele- 
brity, exhibited  his  '  Venus  Kising  from  the  Sea '  and 
other  similar  works ;  some  of  Cosway's  miniatures,  of 
Flaxman's  models,  and  of  Nollekens'  busts,  were  there ; 

VHC.  US,./  .  .  '       .  ' 

t.ii  and  an  attractive  portrait  picture  was  exhibited  by  the 
.  *  £— rr-  *:       *u     -D  .    i 

new   member,  Jonann   Zonanij,  representing  the   Koyal 

Academicians  in  the  hah1  of  the  Academy  during  one  of 
the  evenings  devoted  to  drawing  from  the  living  model. 
The  picture  has  been  admirably  engraved  by  Earlom  in 
mezzotinto,  and  is  an  interesting  memorial  of  the  earlier 
days  of  the  Academy.  There  was  a  decline  in  the  amount 
of  the  receipts,  the  sum  being  only  £976  5s.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  exhibition  were  £221  3s.  lO^d. ;  aid  to 
artists  and  their  families  was  granted  to  the  extent  of 
£208  9s.  ;  and,  after  the  charges  for  the  schools,  &c.,  were 
defrayed,  a  deficiency  of  £623  10s.  l^d.  remained,  to  be 
again  made  up  from  the  privy  purse  of  the  King.  The 
fifth  of  Eeynolds's  discourses  was  delivered  this  year  on 
the  occasion  of  distributing  the  prizes  on  the  10th  of 
December,  when  he  continued  the  subject  of  the  preced- 
ing one,  illustrating  his  teaching  by  an  analysis  of  the 
works  of  the  great  masters  in  the  ancient  schools  of  art. 

In  the  foil  owing  year  (1773)  the  full  complement  of 
forty  academicians  was  attained.  Originally  only  thirty- 
four  were  nominated  by  the  King;  subsequently, in  1769, 


CH.  V.]  THE  FIFTH  EXHIBITION  145 

his  Majesty  named  two  others,  Johan  Zoffanij  and  William 
Hoare  ;  but  after  that  time  all  the  academicians  obtained 
their  appointment  by  the  election  of  the  members.  Thus 
Edward  Burch  and  Eichard  Cosway  (two  of  the  first 
students)  were  elected  associates  in  1770,  and  E.A.  in 
1771.  Joseph  Nollekens,  the  sculptor,  was  elected  in  the 
same  year ;  and  James  Barry,  the  painter,  in  1773.  Even 
at  this  early  period  death  had  visited  the  new  community, 
and  Francis  Cotes  and  John  Baker  had  passed  away  from 
among  them. 

The  fifth  exhibition,  in  1773,  again  showed  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  works  sent  for  exhibition,  359  being 
hung,  and  26  excluded, —  9  of  these  being  the  productions 
of  the  academicians,  and  one  of  them  a  full-length  portrait 
of  a  lady  by  Eeynolds.  But  in  this  collection  the  Presi- 
dent had  twelve  of  his  most  celebrated  works  displayed ; 
among  them,  his  portraits  of  their  Eoyal  Highnesses  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumberland, —  the  famous  '  Straw- 
berry Girl,'1  which  was  sold  to  Lord  Carysfort  for  fifty 
guineas,  and  realised,  a  few  years  since,  at  the  sale  of 
Samuel  Eogers'  pictures,  the  sum  of  two  thousand ! — and 
another  picture,  of  a  very  opposite  character,  the  '  Count 
Ugolino  and  his  Children,'  from  Dante's  "  Inferno."  Here, 
too,  were  twelve  of  West's  classical  and  Scripture  pieces, 
five  similar  works  by  Kauffman,  and  a  large  number  of 
portraits  and  landscapes  by  Cosway  and  Zoffanij,  Sandby, 
De  Loutherbourg,  and  D.  Serres.  The  receipts  of  the 
exhibition  were  £1006  8s.;  and  its  expenses,  £263  7s. 
A  sum  of  £200  1  Is.  was  distributed  afterwards ;  the 
charges  for  the  schools,  &c.,  absorbed  the  balance,  and 
a  further  sum  of  £458  1  Is.  7£(/.,  which  the  King  again 
graciously  supplied  from  the  privy  purse. 

It  was  in  this  year  (1773),  while  the  Eoyal  Academy 


•  Reynolds   often    said   that    no  lifetime,  and  when  ho  painted  the 

man  ever  produced  more  than  half-  '  Strawberry   Girl, '    he    remarked, 

a-dozen  original  works  in  his  whole  "  This  is  one  of  my  originals." 

VOL.  I.  L 


146  inSTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

was  still  in  the  infancy  of  its  career,  and  had  not  yet 
overcome  the  opposition  of  rival  societies  of  art,  that  its 
members  gave  a  noble  instance  of  their  public  spirit,  and 
of  their  generous  desire  to  advance  the  cause  of  art,  at  a 
great  cost  of  time  and  labour  to  themselves,  by  offering 
to  paint,  at  their  own  expense,  a  series  of  Scriptural 
histories,  for  the  decoration  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  This 
proposal  arose  out  of  one  made  by  some  of  the  members 
that  the  chapel  in  Old  Somerset  Palace,  which  had  been 
assigned  to  them,  would  afford  a  good  opportunity  of 
convincing  the  public  of  the  advantages  that  would  arise 
from  ornamenting  churches  and  cathedrals  with  works  of 
art ;  but  the  president  considered  that  the  Metropolitan 
Cathedral  would  be  the  best  site  for  such  an  illustration 
of  their  purpose.  The  artists  selected  to  carry  out  the 
design  were  Angelica  Kauffman,  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds, 
Benjamin  West,  Cipriani,  N.  Dance,  and  James  Barry. 
The  latter  says1  that  "Dance  had  chosen  for  his  subject, 
the  'Eaising  of  Lazarus;'  Eeynolds,  the  'Virgin  and 
Christ  in  the  Manger ;'  West,  '  Christ  Eaising  the  Widow's 
Son;'  and  mine,  'Christ  Eejected  by  the  Jews,  before 
Pilate.'"  As  this  offer  was  in  accordance  with  the  original 
design  and  intention  of  Sir  C.  Wren,  the  architect  of  the 
cathedral,  it  was  expected  that  it  would  have  been  readily 
accepted  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  especially  as  the 
King  gave  his  ready  consent  to  the  proposal.  In  this, 
however,  the  artists  were  doomed  to  suffer  a  sad  dis- 
appointment. The  causes  which  led  to  its  rejection  are 
stated  in  detail  by  Dr.  Newton,  then  Dean  of  St.  Paul's, 
and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bristol,  in  the  life,  written  by 
himself,  prefixed  to  the  4to  edition  of  his  works,  1782. 
He  says : — 

"  As  he  was  known  to  be  such  a  lover  of  their  art,  the  Eoyal 
Academy  of  Painters,  in  1773,  made  an  application  to  him,  by 
their  worthy  president,  Sir  Joshua  Keynolds,  representing  that 


1  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  14th  October,  1773. 


CH.  V.]  OFFER  TO  DECORATE  ST.  PAUL'S  CATHEDRAL  147 

the  art  of  painting,  notwithstanding  the  present  encouragement 
given  to  it  in  England,  would  never  grow  up  to  maturity  and 
perfection  unless  it  could  be  introduced  into  churches,  as  in 
foreign  countries, —  individuals  being  for  the  most  part  fonder 
of  their  own  portraits  and  those  of  their  families  than  of  any 
historical  pieces ; — that,  to  make  a  beginning,  the  Koyal  Acade- 
micians offered  their  services  to  the  Dean  and  Chapter  to 
decorate  St.  Paul's  with  Scripture  histories  .  .  .  that  these 
pictures  should  be  seen,  and  examined,  and  approved  by  the 
Academy  before  they  were  offered  to  the  Dean  and  Chapter,  and 
the  Dean  and  Chapter  might  then  give  directions  for  alterations 
and  amendments,  and  receive  or  refuse  them  as  they  thought  them 
worthy  or  unworthy  of  the  places  for  which  they  were  designed ; 
none  should  be  put  up  but  such  as  were  entirely  approved,  and 
they  should  all  be  put  up  at  the  charge  of  the  Academy,  without 
any  expense  to  the  members  of  the  church.  St.  Paul's  had  all 
along  wanted  some  such  ornament,  for,  rich  and  beautiful  as  it 
was  without,  it  was  too  plain  and  unadorned  within.  Sir  James 
Thornhill  had  painted  the  '  History  of  St.  Paul '  in  the  cupola, 
the  worst  part  of  the  church  that  could  have  been  painted.  .  .  . 
They  had  better  have  been  placed  below,  where  they  would 
have  been  seen,  for  there  are  compartments  which  were  originally 
designed  for  bas-reliefs,  or  such  decorations ;  but  the  parliament, 
as  it  is  said,  having  taken  part  of  the  fabric-money,  and  applied 
it  to  King  William's  wars,  Sir  C.  Wren  complained  that  his 
wings  were  dipt,  and  the  church  was  deprived  of  its  ornaments. 
Here,  then,  a  fair  opportunity  was  offered  for  retrieving  the  loss, 
and  supplying  former  defects.  It  was  certainly  a  most  generous 
and  noble  offer  on  the  part  of  the  Academicians,  and  the  public 
ought  to  think  themselves  greatly  obliged  to  them  for  it.  The 
Dean  and  Chapter  were  all  equally  pleased  with  it;  and  the 
Dean,  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  went  to  communicate  it  to  the 
great  patron  of  arts,  and  readily  obtained  his  Royal  consent  and 
approbation ;  but  the  trustees  of  the  fabric,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  were  also  to  be  consulted, 
and  they  disapproved  the  measure.  Bishop  Terrick,  both  as 
trustee  of  the  fabric  and  as  bishop  of  the  diocese,  strenuously 
opposed  it.  Whether  he  took  it  amiss  that  the  proposal  was  not 
made  to  him,  and  by  him  the  intelligence  conveyed  to  his 
Majesty,  or  whether  he  was  really  afraid,  as  he  said,  that  it 
would  occasion  a  great  noise  and  clamour  against  it,  as  an  artful 

x.  2 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

intrusion  of  Popery, —  whatever  were  his  reasons,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  some  other  serious  persons  disapproved  the 
setting  up  of  pictures  in  churches." 

An  intimation  was  given  to  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  that 
the  project  must  therefore  be  abandoned,  a  decision 
which  was  alike  disappointing  to  the  artists  who  had  thus 
volunteered  to  devote  their  services  gratuitously  for  the 
decoration  of  the  noble  structure,  and  to  the  public,  who, 
far  from  thinking  that  Popery  would  be  strengthened,  felt 
that  the  representation  of  Scriptural  scenes  might  be  sub- 
ordinated to  the  teaching  of  the  simple  truths  of  the 
Protestant  faith. 

The  new  building  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Arts, 
Manufactures,  &c.,  in  the  Adelphi,  was  occupied  by  the 
society  in  the  year  (1774)  following  that  in  which  the 
above  proposition  had  been  made  ;  and  probably  wishing 
to  take  advantage  of  the  public  spirit  of  the  artists,  the 
society  sent  an  invitation  to  the  members  of  the  Royal 
Academy  to  paint  a  series  of  pictures  for  the  decoration 
of  their  great  hall  of  meeting,  offering,  by  way  of  re- 
muneration, that  the  pictures,  when  finished,  should  be 
exhibited  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  might  have 
executed  them.  Eesolutions  were  passed,  proposing  to 
have  eight  historical  and  two  allegorical  pictures, —  the 
former  illustrating  English  history,  the  latter  to  be 
"  emblematical  designs  relative  to  the  institution  and 
views  of  the  society," — and  naming  Eeynolds,  West, 
Cipriani,  Dance,  Mortimer,  Barry,  Wright,  Eomney, 
Penny,  and  Angelica  Kauffman  as  proper  persons  to 
execute  them.  But  the  rejection  of  their  former  proposal 
by  the  Bishop  of  London  caused  the  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  to  decline  any  more  similar  undertakings, 
and  the  plan  of  the  Society  of  Arts  remained  in  abeyance 
till  1777,  when  James  Barry  offered  to  paint  a  series  of 
pictures  on  '  Human  Culture '  for  the  society,  which 
occupied  him  nearly  seven  years, — in  return  for  which 
the  society  granted  him  the  proceeds  of  two  exhibitions, 


CH.  V.]  THE  EXHIBITIONS  OF  1774—5  149 

which  yielded  £503,  voted  him  250  guineas,  their  gold 
medal,  and  a  seat  of  membership.  His  desire  for  fame 
was  thus  gratified,  and  he  was  satisfied  with  the  remunera- 
tion he  received ;  yet  his  labour  was  so  far  unprofitable 
to  him  that  it  necessarily  involved  years  of  poverty  and 
seclusion. 

The  sixth  exhibition,  in  1774,  did  not  present  any  new 
features,  or  make  any  advance  on  its  predecessors.  The 
number  of  works  exhibited  was  nearly  the  same,  354 ; 
the  number  omitted  (always  at  that  time  numbered  and 
described  in  the  catalogue)  only  8.  Historical  and  fan- 
ciful pictures  were  numerous.  There  were  3  by  Barry, 
7  by  A.  Kauffinan,  3  by  B.  West,  including  'Moses  re- 
ceiving the  Tables,'  a  design  for  a  picture  intended  to  have 
been  painted  for  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and  a  design  for  the 
altar-piece  of  St.  Stephen's,  Walbrook.  Sir  J.  Eeynolds 
exhibited  twelve  pictures,  chiefly  portraits.  In  landscape 
the  principal  exhibitors  were  Barret,  De  Loutherbourg, 
Booker,  Sandby,  Serres  and  Wilson.  Bartolozzi,  Cipriani 
and  Fuseli  contributed  drawings ;  and  Bacon,  Nollekens, 
and  Wilton  were  the  chief  sculptors.  The  receipts  in- 
creased to  £1158.  The  expenses  amounted  to  £286 
13s.  2^d. ;  £216  6s.  was  distributed  as  gifts  at  the  close 
of  the  exhibition ;  and  on  the  accounts  of  the  year  the 
sum  of  £368  17,9.  lid.  was  furnished  by  the  King  to 
meet  the  expenditure  for  the  schools,  &c. 

In  the  following  year,  1775,  390  works  were  exhibited, 
and  10  excluded,  among  the  latter  4  by  Angelica 
Kauffinan,  and  a  basso-relievo  by  Banks.  The  Presi- 
dent showed  by  1 2  portrait  pictures  that  he  was  still  the 
favourite  in  that  branch  of  art.  West  contributed  7 
pictures,  chiefly  of  Scripture  subjects :  A  Kauffinan  and 
Barry  followed  with  classical  designs  :  De  Loutherbourg, 
Booker,  Sandby,  Serres  and  Wilson  sent  many  landscapes ; 
and  among  the  prominent  works  in  sculpture  were  the 
graceful  models  by  John  Bacon,  Flaxman  and  Nollekens. 
The  exhibition  receipts  amounted  to  £1001  8*. ;  its 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

expenses  to  £310  17 s.  Sd. ;  and  after  a  sum  of  £84  had 
been  distributed  in  aid  to  artists  and  their  families,  there 
was  still  the  necessity  to  appeal  to  the  liberality  of  the 
Royal  Patron  of  the  Academy  to  supply  £408  Qs.  8|d., 
to  defray  its  expenses,  out  of  the  privy  purse. 

Hitherto  the  Academicians  had  derived  no  benefit  from 
the  annual  distribution  of  the  money  which  had  been 
placed  at  their  disposal ;  but  in  1775  one  of  the  members, 
J.  Meyer,  considering  that  it  often  happens  from  a  va- 
riety of  causes  that  even  men  of  great  talents  are  ex- 
posed in  old  age  to  penury  and  want,  proposed  that 
instead  of  the  Academy  expending  annually  £200  (as 
prescribed  by  one  of  the  laws  of  the  institution)  in  chari- 
table gifts  to  persons  who  were  often  strangers  to  art,  or 
had  but  small  connexion  with  it,  an  annual  investment  in 
Government  securities  should  be  made  of  half  that  amount, 
to  accumulate  into  a  fund,  "  to  be  paid  in  sums  not  ex- 
ceeding £25  per  annum  to  such  Academicians  (or  their 
widows)  or  associates,  if  thought  proper,  as  shall  appear 
to  have  no  income  of  their  own  exceeding  £50  per 
annum."  This  judicious  arrangement  was  gladly  acceded 
to  by  the  Council,  and  approved  by  the  King :  and  thus 
was  founded  the  "  Pension  Fund "  which  has  since  been 
so  great  a  boon  to  many  a  talented  artist  in  his  declining 
years,  and  so  great  a  benefit  to  otherwise  impoverished 
families.  Among  the  first  members  of  the  Academy  who 
derived  advantage  from  this  measure  was  Samuel  Wale, 
who  was  placed  on  the  fund  in  1778  ;  and  after  that  date 
the  widows  of  members  appear  on  the  list  of  claimants. 

Although  the  Academy  had  thus  steadily  progressed  in 
establishing  its  reputation,  by  the  high  character  of  the 
works  exhibited  by  its  members,  and  by  the  instruction 
afforded  by  them  to  students  in  art,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  during  all  these  years  it  was  contending 
with  opposition  from  the  two  rival  societies  out  of  which 
it  arose.  In  1771  an  octavo  pamphlet  was  published, 
entitled  "The  Conduct  of  the  Royal  Academicians  while 


CH.  V.]  SIR  K.  STRANGE'S  PAMPHLET  151 

members  of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  of  Great 
Britain,  viz.  from  1760  to  their  Expulsion  in  1769,  with 
part  of  their  Transactions  since  " — in  which  the  conduct 
of  the  seceders  from  the  Society  was,  of  course,  un- 
sparingly condemned.  And  in  1775,  the  same  kind  of 
attack  was  renewed  by  an  old  antagonist,  Sir  Eobert 
Strange,  the  eminent  engraver,  who  in  that  year  published 
"An  Inquiry  into  the  Eise  and  Establishment  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  of  Arts :  to  which  is  prefixed  a  Letter  to  the 
Earl  of  Bute,"  to  the  statements  in  which  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  refer.  With  him  the  question  at  issue 
was  a  personal  one, — his  own  exclusion  from  member- 
ship with  the  Academy  on  the  plea  that  he  was  an  en- 
graver. It  was  then  considered  that  as  the  engraver  was 
but  the  transcriber  of  the  work  of  the  artist,  he  could 
not  take  equal  rank  with  the  latter,  from  whose  work  he 
was  but  a  copyist ;  and  although  the  course  taken  imme- 
diately after  the  formation  of  the  Academy,  in  the  elec- 
tion of  associate  engravers,  was  designed  to  recognise  the 
merits  of  those  who  contributed  so  much  to  spread  a 
taste  for  art  by  means  of  their  skilful  and  truthful 
engravings,  and  who  displayed  so  much  of  the  artist's 
feeling  and  ability  in  the  rendering  of  his  work — yet  it 
failed  to  satisfy  the  ambition  of  such  men  as  Sir  Eobert 
Strange,  who  had  already  attained  an  eminent  place 
among  English  engravers.  A  still  further  concession  of 
the  original  principle  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  this  re- 
spect has  been  made  within  the  last  few  years ;  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  ill-feeling  so  long  excited  between 
two  classes,  whose  mutual  co-operation  is  so  essential  to 
the  advantage  of  each,  will  now  finally  pass  away. 

The  exhibition  of  1776  contained  364  works,  and  ex- 
cluded 15.  Its  chief  attractions  were  still  created  by  the 
number  of  Eeynolds's  brilliant  portrait  pictures,  the  his- 
torical and  fanciful  creations  of  Angelica  Kaufiman,  Ben- 
jamin West,  Samuel  Wale  and  Barry,  the  miniatures  of 
Cosway,  the  portraits  of  Beechey  and  others,  and  the 


152  HISTORY  OF  TILE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V 

landscapes  of  Barret,  De  Loutherbourg,  Paul  Sandby, 
Serres  and  Wilson.  Many  of  the  new  associates  were  dis- 
playing proofs  of  their  genius  ;  and  with  the  addition  of  a 
variety  of  contributions  from  without,  we  can  easily  con- 
ceive that  these  early  exhibitions  afforded  as  many  objects 
of  interest  to  the  real  lover  of  art  as  we  could  find  in  the 
present  day.  This  at  all  events  proved  more  attractive 
than  any  of  its  predecessors,  and  produced  £1248  16s. 
The  expenses  were  £316  13s.  10|e?.,  and  (acting  upon 
the  resolution  of  the  preceding  year  to  invest  one-half 
of  the  sum  usually  applied  to  the  relief  of  artists)  only 
£94  10s.  was  distributed.  The  expenses  of  the  Aca- 
demy being  defrayed,  £177  Is.  b^d.  had  to  be  made  up 
by  the  Royal  bounty — the  sum  thus  generously  pro- 
vided from  the  King's  privy  purse  being  gradually  re- 
duced, as  the  Academy  continued  to  gain  public  support 
and  estimation. 

In  the  following  year,  1777,  no  less  than  423  works 
were  sent  to  the  exhibition,  which  still  retained  the  charac- 
teristic appearance  which  would  be  given  by  so  many 
works  by  artists  whose  well-known  styles  would  lead  at 
once  to  their  identity.  First  in  the  number,  as  well  as 
in  the  excellence  of  his  works,  was  Reynolds,  who  this 
year  contributed  13  paintings.  Other  portraits  were  by 
Beechey,  Cosway,  and  John  Singleton  Copley,  besides 
some  by  Gainsborough,  who  also  sent  a  few  of  his  charm- 
ing landscapes.  Other  scenes  were  depicted  by  Barret, 
De  Loutherbourg,  Wilson,  Sandby,  and  Serres.  Angelica 
Kauffman  and  West  displayed  several  fanciful  pieces,  and 
the  latter  exhibited  two  pictures  containing  portraits  of 
the  Queen  and  the  Royal  family.  Bacon,  Flaxman,  and 
Nollekens  still  held  the  first  place  in  sculpture.  The 
Academy's  receipts  were  this  year  £11 93  Is.,  its  expenses 
£323  12s.  2£d.  The  grants  amounted  to  £121,  and  the 
sum  of  £211  Is.  Q^d.  was  contributed  from  the  privy 
purse  to  meet  the  deficiency  on  its  liabilities  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  schools,  &c.  In  this  year  John  Soane,  the 


CH.  V.]  EXHIBITIONS  OF  1778—9  153 

architect,  was  sent  to  Eome  as  a  travelling  student  from 
the  Koyal  Academy. 

In  the  catalogue  of  the  Exhibition  of  1778,  427  works 
are  included,  but  only  404  were  exhibited ;  and  3  of 
Gainsborough's  portraits  were  of  the  number  omitted. 
Eight  others  by  him,  besides  2  landscapes,  were  exhi- 
bited. Keynolds  had  only  4  pictures,  West  only  3 ; 
but  Beechey,  Copley,  Cosway,  A.  Kauffman,  and  Bar- 
tolozzi  contributed  a  number  of  their  performances  in  the 
same  branch  of  art ;  while  Barret,  Daniell,  De  Louther- 
bourg,  Eooker,  Serres,  Wheatley,  and  Wilson  furnished  an 
array  of  landscapes ;  and  Bacon,  Flaxman,  and  Nollekens 
well  represented  the  sculptors.  The  receipts  were  larger 
than  on  any  former  occasion,  the  exhibition  having  pro- 
duced £1475  Us.  Its  expenses  absorbed  £363  16s.  5e?., 
grants  of  aid  another  £100,  and  after  the  charges  of  the 
Academy  had  been  defrayed,  and  its  annual  investment 
made  to  the  pension  fund,  the  deficit,  £236  11s.  4c?., 
was  supplied  by  the  privy  purse. 

In  1779  the  last  exhibition  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  Pall  Mall  took  place.  Four  hundred  and  eleven 
works  were  sent  for  exhibition,  but  of  these  16  were 
omitted.  Among  those  displayed  were  the  works  de- 
signed by  Keynolds  for  New  College  Chapel,  Oxford  — 
the  '  Nativity,'  and  'Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity' — besides 
some  portraits  by  him,  Gainsborough,  West,  Cosway, 
Beechey,  and  Hone ;  several  historical  and  poetical  com- 
positions by  West,  Cipriani,  and  Angelica  Kauffman ; 
landscapes  by  Wilson,  Gainsborough,  Barret,  De  Louther- 
bourg,  Sandby,  and  Serres,  and  a  large  collection  of 
genre  subjects  by  artists  of  less  note.  The  receipts 
yielded  £1380  16s.,  its  expenses  were  £359  11s.  9^<f. 
The  sum  of  £100  was  granted  to  applicants  for  the  Eoyal 
Charity,  as  it  was  then  appropriately  termed  ;  and  on  the 
charges  for  the  year  £185  15s.  lOJe?.  was  deficient, 
which  the  King's  bounty  supplied  from  the  privy  purse. 

The  schools  of  the  Academy  during  these  years  had 


154  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

continued  to  prosper,  an  average  of  thirty  students  seek- 
ing instruction  in  them.  Besides  their  actual  studies,  and 
the  lectures  of  the  professors,  the  President  continued  his 
discourses  to  them  on  the  great  principles  of  art.  Fol- 
lowing his  fifth  discourse  in  1772  (which  we  have  already 
noticed)  three  others  had  been  delivered  in  the  years 
1774,  1776,  and  1778,  on  the  occasion  of  the  distribution 
(in  December  of  alternate  years)  of  the  gold  medals  to  the 
students.  In  the  sixth  discourse  the  subject  of  imitation 
was  discussed,  so  far  as  a  painter  is  concerned  in  it.  The 
President  defined  invention  to  be  "one  of  the  great 
marks  of  genius ;  but  if  we  consult  experience  we  shall 
find  that  it  is  by  being  conversant  with  the  inventions  of 
others  that  we  learn  to  invent,  as  by  reading  the  thoughts 
of  others  we  learn  to  think ; "  and  he  sums  up  his  dis- 
course by  urging  the  followers  of  the  arts  "  to  study  the 
great  works  of  the  great  masters  for  ever.  .  .  .  Study 
nature  attentively,  but  always  with  those  masters  in  your 
company."  In  his  seventh  discourse,  Eeynolds  sought  to 
demonstrate  the  reality  of  a  standard  of  taste,  and  the 
idea  of  perfect  beauty  when  that  taste  is  rightly  formed ; 
and  in  the  eighth  to  define  those  principles  of  art  which 
have  their  foundation  in  the  mind,  such  as  novelty,  variety, 
and  contrast. 

The  Eoyal  Academy  was  now  honoured  and  encouraged 
by  a  fresh  token  of  the  Eoyal  favour,  and  a  substantial 
proof  of  the  advantage  of  securing  the  patronage  of  the 
Sovereign  in  the  promotion  of  the  arts.  New  Somerset 
House  was  completed  in  1780,  and  early  in  the  year  the 
treasurer  of  the  society  received  the  following  letter  from 
the  Secretary  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  announcing  that 
the  apartments  which  the  King  had  ordered  to  be  appro- 
priated to  the  Eoyal  Academy,  were  ready  for  their  use  :  - 

"  To  Sir  William  Chambers. 

"  SIR, — The  Lords  Commissioners  of  his  Majesty's  Treasury 
having  taken  into  consideration  your  letter  of  the  27th  of 


CH.  V.]  OCCUPATION  OF  PART  OF  NEW  SOMERSET  HOUSE  155 

March,  stating  that  the  apartments  allotted  to  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  the  new  building  at  Somerset  House  are  now  com- 
pletely finished,  and  that  his  Majesty  has  directed  this  year's 
exhibition  of  pictures  to  be  there;  and  desiring  to  have  an 
order  for  delivering  up  the  same  either  to  the  president  or 
council,  or  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Academy,  who  is,  by  virtue  of 
his  office,  to  have  the  inspection  and  care  both  of  the  buildings 
and  all  other  his  Majesty's  effects  employed  in  that  institution  : 
I  am  commanded  by  their  lordships  to  direct  you  to  deliver  up 


The  Royal  Academy,  New  Somerset  Houae 

into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  Royal  Academy,  all  the 
apartments  allotted  to  his  Majesty's  said  Academy  in  the  new 
buildings  in  Somerset  House,  which  are  to  be  appropriated  to 
the  uses  specified  in  the  several  plans  of  the  same,  heretofore 
settled.  And  you  are  to  signify  to  the  officers  of  the  Academy 
that  they,  their  families,  servants,  tradesmen,  and  visitors,  are  to 
use  for  their  apartments  the  stair  of  communication  only,  and 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  V. 

not  to  use  the  great  stair  for  any  common  purposes ;  and  as  the 
residence  of  the  secretary  in  the  Academy  is  an  indulgence 
lately  proposed,  which  upon  trial  may  be  found  inconvenient,  or 
the  rooms  he  occupies  be  hereafter  wanted  for  other  purposes, 
you  are  to  signify  to  him  that  he  holds  the  same  merely  at 
pleasure,  to  be  resumed  whenever  it  shall  be  thought  proper. 
And  to  the  end  that  all  the  parts  of  the  new  building  may  be 
preserved  in  good  repair,  clean,  undamaged,  and  undisfigured, 
you  are  strictly  to  direct  and  order  that  no  tubs  or  pots  of  earth, 
either  with  or  without  flowers  or  trees,  creepers,  or  other 
shrubs,  be  placed  in  the  gutters  of  the  said  buildings,  or  upon 
the  roofs  and  parapets,  or  upon  the  court  areas  or  windows, 
niches,  or  any  other  aperture  of  the  same;  and  also  that  no 
plaster,  paper,  or  other  thing  be  put  up,  plastered,  or  pasted 
against  any  of  the  walls  thereof,  under  any  pretence  whatever. 
And  you  are  further  to  direct  that  on  no  account  whatever,  any 
change  shall  be  made  in  the  destination  of  the  apartments 
appropriated  to  the  public  use,  nor  any  alteration  either  in  those 
or  any  others  that  are  or  shall  be  inhabited  by  any  of  the 
officers  or  servants  without  the  approbation  of  this  board,  and 
that  no  person  be  permitted  to  let  or  lend  their  apartments  under 
any  pretext  whatever. 

"  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"JOHN    KOBINSON. 
"  Treasury  Chambers,  llth  April,  1780." 

The  apartments  thus  allotted  to  the  Eoyal  Academy  (by 
the  right  which  the  King  reserved  to  himself,  when  Old 
Somerset  House  was  given  up  to  the  Government  for 
the  erection  of  Government  offices,  of  appropriating  a 
portion  of  the  new  edifice,  fronting  the  Strand,  to  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  the 
Eoyal  Society)  were  built  expressly  for  their  use,  a  large 
room  being  provided  for  an  exhibition-room  at  the  top  of 
the  building.  The  entrance  was  by  the  doorway  on  the 
right,  as  you  enter  the  vestibule  from  the  Strand.  In  the 
entrance-hall,  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  afterwards  stood 
casts  of '  Hercules,'  and  '  Two  Centaurs  ; '  and  in  another 
part  of  the  hall,  the  '  Apollo  Belvidere.'  As  soon  as  the 
academicians  found  themselves  thus  established  in  their 


CH.  V.]     THE  ACADEMY  AT  SOMERSET  HOUSE      157 

new  home,  they  set  about  the  ornamentation  of  its  several 
parts.  Thus  the  library,  on  the  first  floor,  was  enriched 
with  a  painted  ceiling,  by  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  in  which 
4  Theory '  was  represented  sitting  on  a  cloud,  holding  a 
scroll  containing  the  words,  "  Theory  is  the  knowledge  of 
what  is  truly  nature."  In  the  coves  were  emblematical 
pieces  by  Cipriani,  representing  *  Design,'  '  Character,' 
c  Commerce,'  and  '  Plenty.'  Over  the  chimney-piece  was 
a  bust  of  the  King,  by  Carlini,  and  a  basso-relievo  of 
'  Cupid  and  Psyche,'  by  Nollekens.  The  adjoining  room 
was  the  antique  academy,  full  of  casts  and  models.  This 
led  to  the  lecture-room,  the  ceiling  of  which  was  painted 
in  compartments,  the  centre  containing  the  '  Graces  un- 
veiling Nature,'  surrounding  which  were  the  '  Four 
Elements,'  by  Benjamin  West.  In  four  small  circles  were 
contained  as  many  heads  of  ancient  artists,  Apelles,  Ar- 
chimedes, Apollodorus,  and  Phidias,  by  Biaggio  Eebecca. 
At  each  end  of  the  ceiling  were  four  pieces  by  A. 
Kauffman,  representing  '  Genius,'  '  Design,'  '  Composition,' 
and  '  Painting.'  Two  portraits  of  the  King  and  Queen,  by 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  and  a  picture  of  '  Samuel  and  Eh,' 
by  Copley,  finished  the  adornment  of  this  room.  The 
exhibition-room  was,  of  course,  comparatively  plain  and 
unornamented.  Over  the  door  there  was  a  painting  of 
basso-relievo  heads  of  their  Majesties,  in  a  medallion, 
supported  by  '  Design '  and  '  Painting ; '  and  on  the  top 
of  the  door,  the  motto  "  Let  none  but  men  of  taste  pre- 
sume to  enter,"  was  inscribed,  imitated  from  that  of  Pytha- 
goras, in  Greek.  In  the  corners  were  four  emblematical 
pieces  by  Catton, — '  Geometry,'  '  Science,' '  Painting,'  and 
1  Sculpture.'  The  room  was  lighted  by  four  arched 
windows,  and  was  about  GO  feet  by  50  feet  in  size.  The 
exhibition-room  of  sculpture  and  drawings  was  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  was  quite  plain.  On  the  staircases  were 
various  figures  and  busts.  On  the  first  landing,  a  painting 
by  Cipriani,  in  imitation  of  basso-relievo,  the  subject 
being  the  '  Arts  and  Sciences.'  On  the  staircase,  at  the 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

top  of  the  next  flight,  and  fronting  the  door  of  the  great 
exhibition-room,  there  was  another  painting,  by  the  same 
artist,  of  '  Minerva  and  the  Muses,' — also  an  imitation  of 
basso-relievo,  in  which  the  deception  was  said  to  be  so 
great  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  believe  that  the  figures 
were  not  swelling  from  the  wall. 

Those  who  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  exhibition, 
during  the  fifty-seven  years  in  which  it  was  held  in 
Somerset  House,  speak  of  the  cool,  quiet  dignity  of  the 
council-room  as  being  quite  delightful  to  any  one  who 
had  spent  some  hours  in  the  busy  scene  of  the  exhibition- 
rooms  above.  Here  was  the  board  of  green  cloth,  the 
president's  chair,  the  seats  for  the  academicians,  and 
around  the  chamber  were  hung  the  diploma-pictures1, 
reminding  the  spectator  of  departed  genius.  This  could, 
of  course,  only  refer  to  a  much  later  period,  since  at  the 
time  of  the  removal  of  the  Academy  to  its  new  premises 
only  five  (Eichard  Yeo,  Peter  Toms,  Francis  Hayman, 
John  Baker,  and  Francis  Cotes)  had  died  among  the 
academicians,  and  five  of  the  associates,  viz.  Eavenet, 
Chambers,  Stevens,  Dall,  and  Mortimer.  The  appoint- 
ment of  librarian,  vacant  by  Hayman's  death  in  1776, 
had  been  conferred  on  Eichard  Wilson. 

New  members  had  taken  the  place  of  those  thus  re- 
moved. Since  the  election  of  Barry  (by  whose  appoint- 
ment the  full  number  of  forty  members  was  completed  in 
1773),  William  Peters,  John  Singleton  Copley,  and  John 
Bacon  had  attained  the  rank  of  E.  A. ;  and  in  addition  to 
the  associates  elected  in  1770,  there  were  now  ten  others, 
—  Dall,  Biaggio  Eebecca,  Tornkins,  Elmer,  Edwards, 
Green,  Parry,  Mortimer,  Nixon,  and  Horace  Hone. 

These,  with  the  original  members,  were  sufficient  to 
produce  an  attractive  display  for  the  first  exhibition  in 


1  The  practice  of  requiring  each  "of  the   collection,    not  commenced 

Academician,   on  receiving  his  di-  till  1770 ;  and,  therefore,  the  Aca- 

ploma,  to  present  a  specimen  of  his  demy  does  not  possess  any  work  by 

skill  to  the   Royal  Academy,  was,  several  of  its  earliest  members, 
unfortunately  for  the  historical  value 


CH.  V.]  THE  EXHIBITION  OF  1780  159 

the  new  rooms,  which  was  opened  on  the  1st  of  May, 
1780.  There  was  an  increase  of  the  works  contributed, 
the  number  being  489 ;  the  plan  of  arranging  the 
names  of  the  artists  alphabetically,  and  numbering  their 
works  in  rotation  under  their  respective  names,  was 
abandoned ;  and  the  catalogue  then  presented  the  same 
miscellaneous  inventory  as  it  does  at  the  present  time. 
Sir  J.  Eeynolds  sent  this  year  a  portrait  of  Miss  Beauclerc 
as  Spencer's  "  Una,"  and  the  heads  of  Gibbon,  the  his- 
torian, Lady  Beaumont,  the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
and  his  painting  of  '  Justice.'  Gainsborough  was  there 
with  portraits  and  landscapes ;  West,  with  several  portraits 
of  Eoyal  personages,  classical  subjects,  and  a  representation 
of  the  'Battle  of  the  Boyne,'  and  the  'Action  at  La 
Hogue ; '  D.  Serres  contributed  other  naval  engagements ; 
De  Loutherbourg,  some  sombre  landscapes ;  Wilson,  some 
scenes  of  tranquil  beauty ;  Sandby,  some  drawings  of 
castles  and  Welsh  views ;  Stothard,  some  of  his  graceful 
designs  ;  and  Cosway,  Beechey,  Hamilton,  and  others, 
portraits  and  miniatures  of  varied  beauty ;  besides  the 
general  collection  of  pictures  which  divert  the  eye  from 
more  striking  works. 

The  increased  accommodation,  and  the  desire  of  the 
public  to  see  the  new  rooms  of  the  Academy,  caused  a 
great  rise  in  the  receipts  for  admission,  which  this  year 
amounted  to  £3069  Is.,  an  increase  of  £1700  over  the 
preceding  year.  The  expenses  of  the  exhibition  were 
£656  16.§.  5|c?.,  the  gifts  bestowed  on  needy  artists  and 
their  families  amounted  to  £197  2s.,  and,  for  the  last 
time,  a  contribution  was  made  from  the  privy  purse  of 
£144  18s.  tyd.  towards  the  general  charges  for  the 
Academy.  From  this  period  it  was  independent  of 
pecuniary  aid,  and  has  continued  to  increase  its  resources ; 
but  it  would  be  ungracious  to  forget  that  during  the 
first  twelve  years  of  its  existence  it  relied,  not  only  for 
patronage  and  encouragement,  but  partially  for  support, 
on  the  generosity  of  ite  Koyal  founder,  who,  during  that 


1GO  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  V. 

period,  contributed   from   his   privy  purse   upwards   of 
£5000  towards  its  maintenance. 

In  this  year  (1780)  the  President  painted  a  portrait  of 
Sir  William  Chambers,  the  architect  of  Somerset  House, 
and  that  likeness  of  himself  which  contains  the  bust  of 
Michael  Angelo,  and  presented  them  to  the  Academy. 
They  are  among  his  best  works.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  the  schools,  on  the  16th  of  October,  he 
delivered  a  short  address  to  the  students  (Discourse  ix.), 
in  which,  before  speaking  of  the  advantages  to  society 
from  cultivating  intellectual  pleasures,  he  thus  refers  to 
the  altered  position  and  prospects  of  the  Academy :  — 

"  The  honour  which  the  arts  acquire  by  being  permitted  to 
take  possession  of  this  noble  habitation,  is  one  of  the  most  con- 
siderable of  the  many  instances  we  have  received  of  his 
Majesty's  protection,  and  the  strongest  proof  of  his  desire  to 
make  the  Academy  respectable.  Nothing  has  been  left  undone 
that  might  contribute  to  excite  our  pursuit  or  to  reward  our 
attainments.  We  have  already  the  happiness  of  seeing  the  arts 
in  a  state  to  which  they  never  before  arrived  in  this  nation. 
This  building  in  which  we  are  now  assembled  will  remain  to 
many  future  ages  an  illustrious  specimen  of  the  architect's 
abilities.  It  is  our  duty  to  endeavour  that  those  who  gaze  with 
wonder  at  the  structure  may  not  be  disappointed  when  they 
visit  the  apartments.  It  will  be  no  small  addition  to  the  glory 
which  this  nation  has  already  acquired,  from  having  given  birth 
to  eminent  men  in  every  part  of  science,  if  it  should  be  enabled 
to  produce,  in  consequence  of  this  institution,  a  school  of 
English  artists." 

In  his  address  at  the  distribution  of  prizes  to  the 
students,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1780,  he  took  for  his 
subject,  "The  objects,  form,  and  character  of  works  of 
sculpture,"  and  pointed  out  the  mistakes  made  by  modern 
artists  in  their  efforts  to  improve  on  ancient  models. 

Successive  years  of  prosperity,  extended  usefulness,  and 
increased  popular  favour  followed  on  this  happy  begin- 
ning of  the  Academy's  career  at  Somerset  House.  The 
exhibitions  were  increasingly  attractive —  a  large  number 


CH.  V.]       WOLCOTT'S  SATIRES  ON  THE  ACADEMY  161 

of  works  were  sent  in,  and  the  proceeds  were  more  abun- 
dant year  by  year ;  the  gifts  and  pensions  dispensed  were 
multiplied ;  and  the  means  of  instruction  for  students  in 
each  branch  of  art  improved.  But  there  were,  never- 
theless, trials  attending  this  prosperity,  for  the  Academy 
found  itself  exposed  to  virulent  attacks  from  without,  in 
the  shape  of  pamphlets  and  satires.  Thus,  in  1781,  a 
quarto  pamphlet  was  anonymously  issued,  entitled  "  The 
Ear- wig :  An  old  Woman's  Eemarks  on  the  Exhibition  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy ; "  and  this  was  followed  by  "  Lyric 
Odes  to  the  Eoyal  Academicians  for  1782,  by  Peter 
Pindar,  Esq.,  a  distant  relation  of  the  Poet  of  Thebes,  and 
Laureate  to  the  Academy."  The  latter  were  the  produc- 
tions of  Dr.  John  Wolcott,  an  unsuccessful  physician,  who 
early  discovered  the  genius  of  the  Cornish  boy,  the  self- 
taught  artist  Opie,  and  afterwards  engaged  to  share  in 
the  profits  of  his  labours  as  a  painter.  The  "  Odes  "  took 
the  town  by  surprise,  and  the  justice  of  some  of  his  re- 
marks, the  reckless  daring  of  the  personalities,  and  the 
novelty  of  the  style  of  them,  made  these  productions  ex- 
ceedingly popular.  Wolcott  was  so  much  encouraged  by 
their  success,  that  he  returned  to  the  charge  in  1783, 
1785,  and  1786.  Although  such  malicious  abuse,  and 
such  Licentious  personality  as  were  contained  in  these 
"  Odes,"  could  not  fail  to  be  galling  to  the  members  of 
the  Academy ;  the  very  fact  of  their  publication  and  the 
popular  interest  in  them,  prove  that  the  institution  against 
which  they  were  directed  was  looked  upon  as  an  im- 
portant one,  or  they  would  sooner  have  lost  their  hold 
upon  the  public.  When  the  topic  appeared  to  be  ex- 
hausted, their  unprincipled  author  commenced  a  series  of 
biting  satires  on  the  King  and  Pitt,  and  at  a  later  period  he 
received  a  pension  from  the  latter  to  vituperate  against  the 
opponents  of  his  ministry.  Other  squibs  of  the  same  sort 
continued  to  appear  at  intervals.  Thus,  in  1788,  appeared 
"  The  Bee :  or  the  Exhibition  exhibited  in  a  new  light ; 
or,  a  complete  Catalogue  raisonne  for  1788;"  and  in  1797 

VOL.  I.  M 


162 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL   ACADEMY        [Cn.  V. 


"  The  Eoyal  Academy ;  or,  a  Touchstone  to  the  present 
Exhibition,  by  Anthony  Touchstone."1 


1  Although  the  greater  part  of 
Wolcott's  poetry  is  far  from  suitable 
to  ears  polite,  there  are  passages 
here  and  there  in  his  "  Lyric  Odes 
to  the  Royal  Academicians,"  which 
we  may  quote  without  impropriety, 
to  show  the  tone  in  which  me  ar- 
tists were  dealt  with  by  him.  Here 
is  the  introduction  to  those  for 
1782 :— 

"  Paint  and  the  men  of  canvas  fire  my  lays, 
Who  show  their  works  for  profit  and  for  praise ; 
Whose  pockets  know  most  comfortable  fillings- 
Gaining  two  thousand  pounds  a  year  —  by  shil- 
lings." 

He  thus  speaks  of  Reynolds  and 

West :  — 

"  Yet  Reynolds,  let  me  fairly  say, 

With  pride  I  pour  the  lyric  lay ; 
To  most  things  by  thy  able  hand  expressed — 

Compared,  alas !  to  other  men, 

Thou  art  an  eagle  to  a  wren  ! 
Now,  Mrs.  Muse,  attend  on  Mr.  West. 
"  West,  I  must  own,  thou  dost  inherit, 

Some  portion  of  the  painting  spirit, 
But  trust  me  — not  extraordinary  things  — 

Some  merit  thou  must  surely  own, 

By  getting  up  so  near  the  throne, 
And  gaining  whispers  from  the  best  of  kings." 

Here  are  two  landscape  painters 
contrasted :  — 

"  And  Loutherbourg,  when  Heav'n  so  wills, 
To  make  brass  skies  and  golden  hills, 

With  marble  bullocks  in  glass  pastures  grazing, 
Thy  reputation  too  will  rise, 
And,  people  gazing  with  surprise, 

Cry, '  Monsieur  Loutherbourg  is  most  amazing.' 
"  But  honest  Wilson,  never  mind  ; 
Immortal  praises  thou  Shalt  find, 

And  for  a  dinner  have  no  cause  to  fear. 
Thou  start's!  at  my  prophetic  rhymes  ; 
Don't  be  impatient  for  those  times : 

Wait  till  thou  hast  been  dead  a  hundred  year." 

Ode  VII.  is  in  ridicule  of  Stubbs, 
the  animal  painter,  and  the  next 
"abuseth  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cosway," 
beginning :  — 

"  Fie,  Cosway :  I'm  ashamed  to  say, 
Thou  own'st  the  title  of  R.A." 

Next  follows  a  severe  censure  on 
copyists,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
specimen : — 

"  Sir  Joshua's  happy  pencil  hath  produced 

A  host  of  copyists,  much  of  the  same  feature ; 
By  which  the  art  hath  greatly  been  abused  — 
I  own  Sir  Joshua  great  —  but  Nature  greater. 
But  what,  alas  !  is  ten  times  worse, 
The  progress  of  the  art  to  curse, 
The  copyists  have  been  copied  too ; 
And  that  I'm  sure  will  never  do." 

Five  other  Academicians  are  dis- 
posed of  in  the  next  Ode :  — 

"  Serres  and  Zoflani  I  ween, 
I  better  works  than  yours  have  seen.  .  .  . 
Believe  me,  Barret,  thou  hast  truth  and  taste, 
Tet  sometimes  thou  art  apt  to  be  unchaste.  .  .  . 


"  O  Catton,  our  poor  feelings  spare, 

Suppress  thy  trash  another  year  : 
Nor  of  thy  folly  make  us  say  a  hard  thing. 

And  lo  !  those  daubs  amongst  the  many, 

Painted  by  Mr.  Kdward  Penny  1 
They  truly  are  not  worth  a  half  a  farthing." 

In  Ode  XII.  Mr.  Peters  is  ad- 
dressed, and  also  Angelica  Kauff- 
nian : — 

"  Dear  Peters,  who  like  Luke  the  saint, 
A  man  of  Gospel  art,  and  paint.  .  .  . 
Angelica  my  plaudit  gains  — 
Her  art  so  sweetly  canvas  stains." 

And  in  the  next  the  lady  visitors 
to  the  Exhibition  are  satirised  : — 

" '  Oh,  the  dear  man,'  cried  one,  '  look,  here 's  a 

bonnet, 
He  shall  paint  me  —  I  am  determined  on  it  — 

Lord,  cousin,  see  !  how  beautiful  the  gown ! 
What  charming  colours ;  here's  fine  lace ;  here's 

gauze! 

What  pretty  sprigs  the  fellow  draws ! 
Lord,  cousin,  he's  the  cleverest  man  in  town." " 

In  the  second  series,  published  in 
1783,  the  same  style  of  ridicule  was 
pursued.  In  Ode  II.  West  is  spe- 
cially held  up  to  ridicule.  Here  are 
specimens :  — 

"  West,  if  thy  picture  I  am  forced  to  blame, 
I'll  say  most  handsome  things  about  the  frame . . . 
They'll  make  good  floorcloth?,  tailors'  measures, 
For  table  coverings  be  treasures ; 
With  butchers  form  for  flies  most  charming 

flappers ; 

And  Monday  mornings  at  the  tub, 
When  queens  of  suds  their  linen  scrub, 
Make  for   the   blue-nosed   nymphs   delightful 
wrappers." 

Here  are  some  pretty  lines  to 
Gainsborough  in  Ode  III.,  following 
some  condemning  his  portraits,  and 
his  '  Boys  setting  Dogs  to  fight : '  — 

"  O  Gainsborough  !  Nature  'plaineth  sore, 
That  thou  hast  kicked  her  out  of  door  ; 
Who  in  her  bounteous  gifts  hath  been  so  free 
To  cull  such  genius  out  for  thee  — 
Lo  !  all  thy  efforts  without  her  are  vain  ; 
Go,  find  her,  kiss  her,  and  be  friends  again." 

And  he  thus  speaks  of  Jackson's 
portrait  of  his  protege  Opie  : — 

"  Speak,  Muse,  who  fonn'd  that  matchless  head: 
The  Cornish  boy  in  tin-mines  bred  ; 
Whose  native  genius,  like  his  diamonds  shone, 
In  secret,  till  chance  gave  him  to  the  sun." 

The  remaining  Odes  of  this  series 
are  more  desultory,  and  less  per- 
sonal, except  against  Cosway.  Here 
are  some  remarks  on  what  we  should 
now  call  the  "  pre-Raffaelite " 
style  : — 

"If  at  a  distance  you  would  paint  a  pig, 
Make  out  each  single  bristle  on  his  back  ; 

Or,  if  your  meaner  subject  be  a  wig, 
Let  not  the  caxon  a  distinctness  lack  ; 

Else  all  the  lady  critics  will  so  stare, 
And,  angry,  vow  '  Tls  not  a  bit  like  hair.' 


CH.  V.]  JOHNSON'S  LETTERS  ON  AN  EXCLUDED  PICTURE  103 

As  an  instance  of  the  difficulty  early  experienced  in 
meeting  the  wishes  of  artists  who  sent  their  works  for 
exhibition,  when  no  space  was  available  for  their  admis- 
sion, and  of  the  outcry  then  made  against  their  exclusion, 
on  the  assumed  ground  of  unfairness  to  the  disappointed, 
we  quote  two  letters  from  Dr.  Johnson  to  Sir  J.  Eeynolds 
and  James  Barry,  soliciting  them  to  use  their  influence  in 
behalf  of  Mr.  Lowe,  whose  picture  of  the  '  Deluge '  had 
been  excluded  from  the  exhibition  of  1783.  They  are 
interesting,  both  as  proceeding  from  his  pen,  and  as  show- 
ing the  popularity  which  the  Academy's  exhibition  had 
obtained  among  artists  of  that  day  :— 

"  To  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

"  SIR, — Mr.  Lowe  considers  himself  cut  off  from  all  credit 
and  all  hope  by  the  rejection  of  his  picture  from  the  exhibition. 
Upon  this  work  he  has  exhausted  all  his  powers  and  suspended 
all  his  expectations  ;  and  certainly,  to  be  refused  an  opportunity 
of  taking  the  opinion  of  the  public,  is  in  itself  a  very  great 
hardship.  It  is,  to  be  condemned  without  a  trial. 

"  If  you  could  procure  the  revocation  of  this  incapacitating 
edict,  you  would  deliver  an  unhappy  man  from  great  affliction. 
The  Council  has  sometimes  reversed  its  own  determinations ; 


"  ^A1"1^9  dlftan<>e8  are  to°  f^tuacA,  suggests  the  ways  by  which  painters 

One  floating  scene—  nothing  made  out  —  .  J     .  J 

For  which  he  ought  to  be  abused,  may  win  popularity,  and   thus  la- 

ments in  Ode  XIIL  the  death   of 

"Glvcmc  the  pencil  whose  amazing-  style,  -vr     TT_-,,.    TJ    t     . 

Make*  a  bird's  beak  appear  at  twenty  mile  ;  •"•    JlOne,  IV.  .A.  .  — 

' 


In  the  third  series,  dated  1786,  ^  1780  he  pubii8hed  «The  Fare. 
the  first  Ode  condemns  the  works  ex-  well  Od  „  in  which  he  humorou8|y 
hibited  in  that  year  by  West,  Gams-  de8cribe8  ti,e  :oy  of  the  artista  on 
borough,  and  Itigaud.  The  second  h;8  re8jgniuo.  the  laureateship  of  the 
refers  to  Barry  s  attacks  on  the  Pro-  Academy  ;  describes  the  annual  din- 

ner; again  attacks  the  productions 

"(%Ki^&^SR£R&  of  W"'!   •»*  befc"  blddin*  the 

Darin*  mom  cir.-ii.irui  war  to  wage.  academicians  fiurewelL  oomplimenti 

those  whom  he  has  not  attacked  in 
And  the  third,  fourth,  and  seventh      his  rhymes  :  — 
satirise  Sir  W.  Chambers,  the  archi-       ..  Vp  Roy^  Hlnii  Mnn 


i  t 

tect  of  Somerset  House.       In  Several  Ix>t  m.-  lnr,,rm  >«»  -«<,me  dewrvp  my  nral«c; 

.  .  ,,      ,-,    1.1...  But  triint  mo.  Kfiiilc  S.|iiliv«,  ycmvlmt  few, 

Others  ho  reviews  the  Exhibition,  and  Wkon  naino»  would  not  disgrace  my  lay*/ 

M   2 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL    ACADEMY  [On.  V. 

and  I  hope  that,  by  your  interposition,  this  luckless  picture  may 
yet  be  admitted. 

"  I  am,  &c. 

"SAM.  JOHNSON." 
« 12th  April,  1783." 

"  To  James  Barry,  Esq. 

"  SIR, — Mr.  Lowe's  exclusion  from  the  exhibition  gives  him 
more  trouble  than  you  and  other  gentlemen  of  the  Council 
could  imagine  or  intend.  He  considers  disgrace  and  ruin  as 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  your  determination.  He  says 
that  some  pictures  have  been  received  after  rejection ;  and  if 
there  be  any  such  precedent,  I  earnestly  entreat  that  you  will 
use  your  interest  in  his  favour. 

"  Of  this  work  I  can  say  nothing.  I  pretend  not  to  judge  of 
painting ;  and  this  picture  I  never  saw :  but  I  consider  it  ex- 
tremely hard  to  shut  out  any  man  from  the  possibility  of 
success.  And  therefore  I  repeat  my  request,  that  you  will  pro- 
pose the  reconsideration  of  Mr.  Lowe's  case :  and  if  there  be 
any  among  the  Council  with  whom  my  name  can  have  any 
weight,  be  pleased  to  communicate  to  them  the  desire  of, 

«  Sir, 
"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"SAM.  JOHNSON." 
« 12th  April,  1783." 

,        Such  intercession,  Boswell  tells  us,  was  too  powerful  to 

fybe  resisted,  and  Mr.  Lowe's  performance  was  admitted 

'  at  Somerset  House  ;  but  it  could  only  be  exhibited  in  an 

empty  room,  where  the  unfavourable  judgment  of  the 

public  confirmed,  unfortunately  for  the  artist,  the  wisdom 

of  the  original  decision  of  the  Council  for  its  rejection. 

An  internal  trouble,  greatly  to  be  regretted,  occurred 
in  the  following  year,  on  a  point  in  which  the  sensitive- 
ness of  the  artist,  then  as  now,  is  keenly  awakened. 
Gainsborough  sent  a  portrait  to  the  exhibition  of  1784, 
with  a  request  that  it  should  be  hung  "  on  the  line,"  low 
down,  nearly  to  the  floor.  The  members  who  were  regu- 
lating the  hanging  of  the  pictures  were  either  unable, 
consistently  with  the  bye-laws,  or  unwilling  for  reasons 


CH.V.]  ALDERMAN  BOYDELL  165 

which  we  cannot  now  learn,  to  comply  with  his  request, 
and  informed  him  of  their  decision.  He  was  greatly 
offended,  and  never  sent  another  picture  to  the  exhibition 
during  the  few  remaining  years  of  his  life. 

The  year  1789  was  memorable  in  the  annals  of  art,  as 
being  that  in  which  Boydell's  Shakspeare  Gallery  in  Pall 
Mall  was  opened  to  the  public.  A  few  years  previously 
the  enterprising  Alderman  had  given  commissions  to  the 
best  English  artists  of  the  time  to  paint  a  series  of  pic- 
tures in  illustration  of  the  works  of  our  great  Bard ;  and 
the  170  works  thus  produced  were  gathered  together  in 
Pall  Mall  for  exhibition  in  a  gallery  built  expressly  for  the 
purpose.  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Edmund  Burke,  proposed  the  health  of  Alderman  Boydell 
at  the  Eoyal  Academy  dinner  of  1789,  as  "the  Com- 
mercial Ma3cenas  of  England,"  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  the  whole  company  joined  heartily  in  the  toast.  The 
collection  of  pictures  thus  formed  was  afterwards  (in 
1805)  disposed  of  by  lottery,  when  this  great  patron  of 
British  art  found  that  his  means  had  been  impoverished 
by  the  long  career  of  earnest  enterprise  by  which  he  had 
freed  the  artists  of  England  from  foreign  rivalry  on  their 
own  soil,  and  spent  £350,000  in  his  efforts.  The  plates 
he  published,  as  well  as  his  own  engravings,  testify  to  the 
large  amount  of  employment  which  he  provided  for  the 
artists  and  engravers  of  his  day. 

It  had  been  the  practice  of  the  artists  to  meet  annually 
to  dine  together  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of  the  Royal 
Founder  of  the  Academy,  on  the  4th  of  June.  In  1789, 
it  was  celebrated  with  additional  thankfulness  and  loyalty, 
for  it  was  in  March  of  that  year  that  the  Te  Deum  had  been 
sung  at  St.  Paul's,  after  the  King's  recovery  from  the  attack 
with  which  he  was  visited  in  the  preceding  year.  The  dinner 
was  held  at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern,  in  the  Strand. 
The  company  numbered  about  four  hundred  guests,  who 
were  disposed  round  four  tables — one  for  the  Royal  Aca- 
demicians, the  others  for  the  rest  of  the  guests.  A  similar 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  V. 

gathering  of  artists  was  made  on  the  Queen's  birthday, 
and  at  that  time  the  expense  of  both,  amounting  to  £112, 
was  paid  for  by  the  Academy ;  but  after  1809,  those  who 
attended  them  were  required  to  pay  for  their  tickets. 

Another  controversy,  still  more  painful,  and  more  for- 
midable to  the  Academy  in  its  threatened  results  than  the 
one  previously  referred  to,  arose  out  of  the  division  of 
opinion  as  to  the  election  of  Bonomi,  the  Italian  architect, 
for  whom  the  President,  at  the  persuasion  of  the  Earl  of 
Aylesford,  sought  to  obtain  the  appointment  of  Professor 
of  Perspective,  which  had  remained  vacant1  after  the 
death  of  Samuel  Wale,  in  1786.  But  before  he  could  be 
eligible  for  the  office  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be 
elected  a  Eoyal  Academician.  In  1789,  a  vacancy  among 
the  associates  occurred,  and  Bonomi  offered  himself  as  a 
candidate  for  it.  The  number  of  votes  was  equal  for 
him  and  Gilpin,  an  artist  of  some  reputation  —  but 
Eeynolds  gave  his  casting  vote  for  Bonomi,  who  was  ac- 
cordingly elected.  In  the  following  year  a  vacancy 
among  the  academicians  occurred,  when  Fuseli,  an  asso- 
ciate two  years  before,  and  already  eminent  in  his  profes- 
sion, entered  his  name  as  a  candidate,  and  personally 
solicited  the  President's  vote  in  his  favour.  He  was 
courteously  told  that  on  another  vacancy  he  should  have 
his  support,  but  that  on  that  occasion  he  thought  it  "  not 
only  expedient,  but  highly  necessary  for  the  good  of  the 
Academy  that  Mr.  Bonomi  should  be  elected."  Doubtless, 
the  President  felt  what  he  said,  and  convinced  his  own 
mind  of  his  reasons  for  thus  determining  ;  but  his  opinion 
was  not  shared  by  a  majority  of  his  brethren  in  the 
Academy ;  and  when,  on  the  evening  of  election,  some 
drawings  by  Bonomi  were  exhibited  for  their  inspection, 
by  which  a  rule  was  transgressed,  and  no  similar  oppor- 


1  Speaking  of  the  chairs  of  the  should  be  ever  left  unfilled.     A  ne- 

professors,  in  his  last  discourse,  Rey-  gleet  to  provide  for  qualified  persons, 

nolds  observed  :  "  I  look  upon  it  to  is  to  produce  a  neglect  of  qualifica- 

be  of  importance  that  none  of  them  tions. 


CH.  V.]  RESIGNATION  OF  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS  167 

tunity  was  given  to  Fuseli — the  impression  gained  ground 
that  the  President  was  unduly  exerting  himself  in  favour 
of  one  whose  merits  were  not  equal  to  his  competitor ;  and 
this  feeling  was  unmistakeably  manifested  by  the  election 
of  Fuseli  by  a  majority  of  two  to  one  over  Bonomi,  for 
whom  nine  votes  were  given,  and  twenty-one  for  Fuseli. 

When  the  result  was  known,  the  President  quitted  the 
chair,  and  it  was  evident,  that  for  once  in  his  lifetime  he 
was  deeply  offended,  and  lost  that  calm  self-possession  for 
which  he  was  celebrated.  Thirteen  days  afterwards  he 
wrote  a  letter  (dated  Leicester  Fields,  22nd  Feb.  1790) 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  these  words  : — 
"  Sir, — I  beg  you  will  inform  the  Council,  which  I  under- 
stand meet  this  evening,  with  my  fixed  resolution  of 
resigning  the  presidency  of  the  Koyal  Academy,  and 
consequently  my  seat  as  an  Academician.  As  I  can  no 
longer  be  of  any  service  to  the  Academy  as  President,  it 
would  be  still  less  in  my  power  in  a  subordinate  situation. 
I  therefore  now  take  my  final  leave  of  the  Academy,  with 
my  sincere  good  wishes  for  its  prosperity,  and  with  all 
due  respect  for  its  members  :"  adding,  "  Sir  W.  Chambers 
has  two  letters  of  mine,  either  or  both  of  which  he  has  a 
full  liberty  to  communicate  to  the  Council,"  if  they  wished 
any  further  explanation  of  his  motives  for  the  course  he 
had  taken. 

That  such  a  trifling  circumstance  should  have  es- 
tranged one  so  eminent  in  his  art,  and  so  revered  by  his 
brethren,  would  indeed  have  been  a  disaster  to  the  rising 
Academy,  and  it  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  Council  that 
they  immediately  took  measures  for  bringing  about  a  re- 
conciliation between  them  and  the  President.  Before  the 
above  letter  reached  the  Council,  Reynolds  had  made 
known  his  intention  of  severing  his  connexion  with  the 
Academy  to  Sir  William  Chambers,  who  informed  the 
King  of  what  had  occurred,  and  received  directions  to 
express  his  Majesty's  regret  at  the  decision,  and  the  plea- 
sure it  would  afford  him  if  Sir  Joshua  would  resume  the 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  V. 

presidential  chair.  Even  the  Eoyal  favour  did  not  dispose 
him  to  alter  his  decision  —  but  when  at  length  a  deputa- 
tion, consisting  of  his  oldest  Mends  in  the  Academy,  viz. : 
Benjamin  West,  Thomas  Sandby,  Copley,  Bacon,  Catton, 
Cosway,  Farington,  and  the  Secretary,  waited  upon  him  at 
his  house,  to  beg  that  he  would  reconsider  his  determina- 
tion, their  persuasive  and  kindly  friendship  prevailed,  and 
the  same  evening  he  resumed  his  place  among  them.1 

It  was  well  that  the  misunderstanding  was  thus  satis- 
factorily terminated,  for  the  President's  career  was  well- 
nigh  at  its  close ;  and  it  was  on  the  10th  of  December  of 
the  same  year,  1790,  that  he  delivered  his  last  discourse 
to  the  students  from  the  presidential  chair.2  Since  the 
address  on  their  first  assembly  at  Somerset  House,  he 
had  spoken  to  them,  in  1782,  of  the  genius  of  the  artist : 
again  in  1784,  concerning  the  method  of  regulating  their 
studies :  two  years  afterwards,  as  to  the  place  which  imi- 
tation should  occupy  in  regard  to  art :  in  1788,  his 
discourse  was  on  the  excellences  and  defects  of  Gains- 
borough, then  recently  deceased,  "  one  of  the  greatest 
ornaments  of  our  Academy"  -  —  and,  in  his  last  discourse, 
he  thus  generously  referred  to  the  recent  controversy  :  — 

"  Among  men  united  in  the  same  body,  and  engaged  in  the 
same  pursuits,  along  with  permanent  friendship,  occasional  dif- 
ferences will  arise.  In  these  disputes  men  are  naturally  too 
favourable  to  themselves,  and  think,  perhaps,  too  hardly  of  their 


1  Peter  Pindar  reminded  the  aca-  mence,  a  beam  in  the  floor  gave  way 
demicians  of  this  controversy  in  his  with  a  loud  crash.     The  room  was 
odes  "  On  the  Rights  of  Kings : " —  crowded ;  for,  besides  the  members 
"YOU  quarrelled  with  sir  Joshua  some  time  since,  and  students,  there  were  a  number 

Of  painters  easily  allowed  the  prince—  nf  viaitn-q    nf     rnTilr     and     pminpiifp 
The  emperor,  let  me  say,  without  a  flattery : 

Yet,  wantonly,  against  this  emperor,  lo  i  present.      The   audience  rushed  to 

An  overflowing  tub  of  bile  to  show,  zi       j  ii         •  j          e  ii 

You  foolish  planted  an  Infernal  battery  tile  d.00r,  Or  to  the  Sides  01  tne  room, 

"  Ah !  could  you  wish  your  President  to  change  ?  and  great  confusion  and  alarm  pre- 

Ah!  could  you,  Pagans,  after  false  gods  range?  -\    A          cr        T     l,  1,  „«* 

swop  solid  Reynolds  for  that  shadow  west  ?  vailed.      hir  Joshua,   however,  sat 

in  love  affairs  variety 's  no  sin-  silent  and  unmoved  in  his  chair,  and 

Travellers  may  change  at  any  time  their  inn —  in  i  i         •>•     i       •, 

Here,  'tis  painM>lasphemy  I  do  protest."  as  the  tlOOr  Only  Sank  a  little,  it  WOS 

2  A    circumstance    attended    the  soon   supported,   and  the   company 
delivery    of   this    discourse    which  resumed   their  seats,  and  he   corn- 
threatened  a  serious  disaster.     Just  menced  his   discourse  with  perfect 
as  the  President  was  about  to  com-  composure. 


CH.  V.I  REYNOLDS'S  LAST  DISCOURSE  169 

antagonists.  But  composed  and  constituted  as  we  are,  these 
little  contentions  will  be  lost  to  others,  and  they  ought  certainly 
to  be  lost  amongst  ourselves,  in  mutual  esteem  for  talents  and 
acquirements.  Every  controversy  ought  to  be,  and  I  am  per- 
suaded will  be,  sunk  in  our  zeal  for  the  perfection  of  our 
common  art.  In  parting  with  the  Academy,  I  shall  remember 
with  pride,  affection  and  gratitude,  the  support  with  which  I 
have  almost  uniformly  been  honoured  from  the  commencement 
of  our  intercourse.  I  shall  leave  you,  gentlemen,  with  un- 
affected cordial  wishes  for  your  future  concord,  and  with  a  well- 
founded  hope  that  in  that  concord  the  auspicious  and  not 
obscure  origin  of  our  Academy  may  be  forgotten  in  the  splendour 
of  your  succeeding  prospects." 

Eeviewing  the  Academy  as  a  school  of  art,  tlie  President 
thus  spoke  of  his  own  labours,  and  the  design  of  his 
discourses :  — 

"  We  may  safely  congratulate  ourselves  on  our  good  fortune 
in  having  hitherto  seen  the  chairs  of  our  professors  filled  with 
men  of  distinguished  abilities,  and  who  have  so  well  acquitted 
themselves  of  their  duty  in  their  several  departments.  ...  In 
this  honourable  rank  of  professors  I  have  not  presumed  to  class 
myself:  though  in  the  discourses  which  I  have  had  the  honour 
of  delivering  from  this  place,  while  in  one  respect  I  may  be 
considered  as  a  volunteer,  in  another  view  it  seems  as  if  I  was 
involuntarily  pressed  into  this  service.  If  prizes  were  to  be 
given,  it  appeared  not  only  proper,  but  almost  indispensably 
necessary,  that  something  should  be  said  by  the  President  on 
the  delivery  of  those  prizes;  and  the  President,  for  his  own 
credit,  would  wish  to  say  something  more  than  mere  words  of 
compliment, —  which,  by  being  frequently  repeated,  would  soon 
become  flat  and  uninteresting,  and,  by  being  uttered  to  many, 
would  at  last  become  a  distinction  to  none.  I  thought,  there- 
fore, if  I  were  to  preface  this  compliment  with  some  instructive 
observations  on  the  Art,  when  we  crowned  merit  in  the  artist 
whom  we  rewarded,  I  might  do  something  to  animate  and 
guide  them  in  their  future  attempts." 

A  presentiment  that  the  close  of  his  career  was  at 
hand,  led  him  to  add,  "  My  age,  and  my  infirmities  still 
more  than  my  age,  make  it  probable  that  this  will  be  the 


170        .        HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  V. 

last  time  I  shall  have  the  honour  of  addressing  you  from 
this  place  ; "  and,  finally  recommending  the  study  of  the 
works  of  his  favourite  master,  he  concluded  by  saying:— 

"I  reflect,  not  without  vanity,  that  these  discourses  bear 
testimony  of  my  admiration  of  that  truly  divine  man ;  and  I 
should  desire  that  the  last  words  which  I  should  pronounce  in 
this  Academy,  and  from  this  place,  might  be  the  name  of 
MICHAEL  ANGELO."' 

When  he  had  concluded  his  discourse,  Burke,  who  was 
among  the  crowd  of  illustrious  persons  assembled  to  hear 
him,  stepped  forward,  as  Eeynolds  descended  the  reading- 
desk,  and  taking  his  hand,  said :  — 

"  The  Angel  ended ;  and  in  Adam's  ear 
So  charming  left  his  voice,  that  he  a  while 
Thought  him  still  speaking,  still  stood  fixt  to  hear." 

The  President's  last  wish  was,  unhappily  for  the  cause 
of  art,  literally  fulfilled,  for  his  voice  was  never  again 
heard  in  the  Academy,  after  pronouncing  the  name  of  his 
great  predecessor  in  art.  In  the  following  year  a  malady 
long  existing  in  his  frame,  manifested  most  painful 
symptoms,  and  he  again  solicited  to  be  allowed  to  resign 
his  position  in  the  Academy,  but  was  urged  to  retain  it 


1  When    these    discourses    -were  large  picture.     In  both  productions 

published,    Dr.    Johnson    expressed  one  may  trace  a  most  elevated  genius, 

his  great  satisfaction   at  their  ap-  I  recommend  you  to  give  my  thanks 

pearance,  and   since  his  time  until  to  Sir  Joshua,  and  to  remit  him  the 

the  present  day,  they  have  retained  box  I  send  as   a  testimony  of  the 

their  popularity.      They    are    con-  great  satisfaction  the  perusal  of  his 

stantly  presented  as  prizes  to  stu-  discourses  has  given  me,  and  which 

dents  in  art  at  the  Royal  Academy  I   look  upon   as  perhaps   the    best 

and    elsewhere.      When    Reynolds  work  that  ever  was  written  on  the 

sent  a  copy  of  them,  with  his  pic-  subject."     The  box  was  a  gold  one, 

ture  of '  Hercules,'  which  he  painted  with  a  basso-relievo  of  her  Imperial 

for  the  Empress  Catherine  of  Russia,  Majesty  in  the  lid  set  with  dia- 

she  wrote  to  her  ambassador  in  Lon-  monds,    enclosing    a    note    written 

don,  saying  :  "  I  have   read,  and  I  with  her  own  hands,  as  follows  :  — 

may  say,  with  the  greatest  avidity,  "  Pour   la   Chevalier  Reynolds,  en 

those  discourses  pronounced  at  the  temoignage  du  contentement  que  j  'ai 

Royal  Academy  of  London  by  Sir  ressenti  a  la  lecture  de  ses  excellens 

Joshua  Reynolds,  which  that  illus-  discours  sur  la  peinture." 
trious  artist  sent  to  me  with   his 


OH.  \.]  INFLUENCE  OF  REYNOLDS  171 

for  the  -sake  of  his  brother  artists,  a  deputy  being  ap- 
pointed to  perform  his  duties.  This  was  only  for  a  short 
time,  however,  for  his  death  took  place  on  the  23rd  of 
February,  1792.  All  possible  honour  was  paid  to  his 
memory.  His  body  laid  in  state  in  the  great  room  of  the 
Academy  at  Somerset  House,  and  was  followed  to  its 
final  resting-place  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  not  only  by  all 
the  members  of  the  Academy,  but  by  many  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  who  desired  thus  to  testify  their  respect  for  his 
genius.  Among  them,  a  conspicuous  figure  was  that  of 
his  most  valued  and  beloved  friend,  Edmund  Burke,  on 
whose  countenance  was  depicted  the  deep  grief  he  felt  on 
the  occasion.  Such  a  scene  was  calculated  to  make  a 
striking  impression  on  the  students  who  formed  part  of 
the  procession,  and  Sir  M.  A.  Shee  (who  attended  in  that 
capacity)  afterwards  spoke  of  it  as  a  stimulus  to  young 
artists,  to  see  such  a  tribute  paid  to  departed  genius,  and 
to  witness  the  high  social  position  by  which  its  efforts  had 
been  rewarded  in  the  case  of  the  deceased  President. 

That  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  did  much,  by  his  personal 
character  and  disposition,  no  less  than  by  his  ability  as  an 
artist  and  a  teacher  of  its  principles,  to  advance  the 
dignity  of  the  institution  over  which  he  presided,  cannot 
be  doubted ;  and  the  English  School  owes,  if  not  its 
foundation,  at  least  its  primary  development  to  his 
eminent  skill  and  the  irresistible  charm  of  everything  that 
proceeded  from  his  hand.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  he 
never  attained  to  eminence  as  a  historical  painter,  or  as 
an  imitator  of  the  grand  style  of  the  ancient  masters ;  but 
by  following  portraiture  chiefly,  he  not  only  met  the  ex- 
isting demand  for  art,  but  applied  it  to  those  objects  which 
would  most  surely  tend  to  its  future  improvement  and 
extension.  Portraits  were  from  the  first  the  most  abun- 
dant class  of  pictures  in  the  exhibitions,  and  will  always 
be  so,  because  of  the  personal  interest  which  the  owners 
of  such  pictures  possess  in  representations  of  that  nature. 
Had  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  not  opened  the  way  to  make 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  V. 

such  subjects  really  works  of  art,  they  would  have  been 
still  abundant,  but  the  taste  for  what  is  really  beautiful  in 
art  would  not  have  been  improved  as  it  has  been  by  the 
wide  dissemination  of  well-painted  portraits.  Dr.  Johnson 
truthfully  expressed  the  value  of  such  works  when  he  said : 

"I  should  grieve  to  see  Eeynolds  transfer  to  heroes  and 
goddesses — to  empty  splendour  and  to  airy  fiction  —  that  art 
which  is  now  employed  in  diffusing  friendship,  in  renewing 
tenderness,  in  quickening  the  affections  of  the  absent,  and  con- 
tinuing the  presence  of  the  dead.  .  .  .  This  use  of  the  art  is  a 
natural  and  reasonable  consequence  of  affection ;  and  though, 
like  all  human  actions,  it  is  often  complicated  with  pride,  yet 
even  such  pride  is  more  laudable  than  that  by  which  palaces  are 
covered  with  pictures  that,  however  excellent,  neither  imply  the 
owner's  virtue  nor  excite  it." 

Walpole  went  further,  and  said  that  — 

"  Portraiture  is  the  only  true  historical  painting.  Its  uses 
are  manifest, — it  administers  to  the  affections ;  it  preserves  to 
the  world  the  features  of  those  who,  for  their  services,  have 
deserved  the  gratitude  of  mankind,  and  of  those  who  have  been 
in  any  way  remarkable  for  their  own  actions,  or  through  their 
position  in  society ;  and  in  a  simply  historical  point  of  view,  it 
illustrates  the  costumes  and  habits  of  past  ages." 

Death  had  serried  the  ranks  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians 
of  more  than  half  their  original  number  at  the  period  of 
its  history  at  which  we  have  now  arrived.  Besides  the 
five  already  named  as  having  died  before  the  removal 
to  new  Somerset  House,  thirteen  others  of  the  original 
members  had  preceded  the  President  to  the  grave. 
Eichard  Wilson  died  in  1782  ;  G.  M.  Moser,  the  Keeper, 
in  1783 ;  Barret  and  Nathaniel  Hone  in  the  follow- 
ing year;  Cipriani  in  1785 ;  John  Gwynn  the  architect, 
and  Samuel  Wale,  the  Professor  of  Perspective  and 
Librarian,  in  the  next  year ;  Mason  Chamberlin  in  1787  ; 
Gainsborough  the  next  year  ;  J.  Meyer  and  Zuccarelli  in 
1789  ;  Carlini,  the  Keeper,  in  1790  ;  and  E.  Penny,  the 


CH.  V.]  NEW  APPOINTMENTS  173 

Professor  of  Painting,  in  1791.  To  these  must  be  added 
the  names  of  the  associates,  P.  C.  Canot  and  Thomas 
Chambers,  engravers,  and  William  Pars  and  William 
Parry,  the  painters,  who  died  within  the  same  period. 

Between  the  year  1780  and  that  in  which  Eeynolds 
died,  sixteen  new  Eoyal  Academicians  were  elected,  of 
whom  an  account  will  be  given  in  the  next  chapter ; 
and  we  shall  notice  in  the  following  one  the  associate- 
engravers  elected  during  his  presidentship,  and  also  such 
of  the  new  associates  as  were  not  subsequently  elected 
Eoyal  Academicians. 

Several  changes  had  also  taken  place  among  the  officers 
of  the  Academy.  F.  M.  Newton  resigned  the  office  of 
Secretary  in  1788,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Eichards. 
The  office  of  Librarian  had  been  successively  filled  by 
Hayman,  Wilson,  Wale,  and  Wilton  ;  and  that  of  Keeper 
by  Moser,  Carlini,  and  Wilton.  Among  the  Professors, 
E.  Penny  had  been  succeeded  by  James  Barry  as 
Professor  of  Painting ;  Samuel  Wale  by  Edward  Edwards, 
as  Professor  of  Perspective  ;  and  Dr.  William  Hunter, 
the  Professor  of  Anatomy,  had  been  succeeded  by  John 
Sheldon  in  1783.  Among  the  Honorary  Members, 
the  Eev.  Wm.  Peters,  formerly  an  Academician,  had 
been  Honorary  Chaplain  from  1784  to  1788,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Bishop  of  Killaloe.  Oliver  Goldsmith,  the 
first  Professor  of  Ancient  History,  had  been  replaced  suc- 
cessively by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Francklin  and  Edward  Gibbon. 
On  Dr.  Johnson's  death  in  1787 1,  his  friend  Bennet 


1  A  proposal  was  made  that  the  to  the  memory  of  great  artists  re- 
Koyal  Academy  should  contribute  cently  deceased,  especially  as  the 
£100  towards  the  monument  erected  funds  were  ordered,  by  the  Royal  man- 
to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Johnson  in  date,  to  be  only  applied  to  the  pur- 
St.  Paul's ;  but  in  November,  1701,  poses  specified  in  the  Instrument  of 
Sir  W.  Chambers  (the  treasurer),  Institution.  The  proposal  was  carried, 
and  other  members  of  the  Academy,  but  the  money  was  not  paid,  for 
objected  to  the  grant  of  any  of  its  when  the  intended  subscription  was 
limited  funds  to  the  purpose  of  a  submitted  to  the  king  for  approval, 
memorial  of  such  general  importance,  it  was  not  continued  by  his  Majesty, 
while  no  mark  of  honour  was  puid 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY  [Cn.  V. 

Langton  filled  the  office  of  Professor  of  Ancient  Lite- 
rature ;  and  James  Boswell  had  succeeded  Baretti  as 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence ;  while  Eichard 
Dalton  filled  the  office  of  Antiquary  from  1770  to  1784, 
after  which  it  remained  vacant  for  several  years. 

One  travelling  student,  Charles  Grignion,  the  painter, 
was  sent  abroad  in  1781 ;  in  1785,  John  Deare,  and 
Charles  Eossi,  the  sculptors,  were  selected  for  the  same 
privilege ;  and  in  1790,  an  architect,  George  Hadfield, 
was  chosen  from  the  gold  medal  students.  In  the  last- 
named  year  the  Eoyal  Academy  increased  the  allowance 
of  £60  a  year  granted  for  three  years  to  travelling 
students  to  £100  a  year. 

In  the  exhibitions  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  after  the 
removal  to  Somerset  House,  a  large  and  continued  increase 
in  the  number  of  contributions  took  place.  These,  which 
were  489  in  1780,  rose  gradually  till  they  numbered  780 
in  1792,  the  year  in  which  Eeynolds  died.  The  year 
of  its  removal  to  Somerset  House,  was  the  beginning  of 
the  financial  independence  of  the  Academy,  its  receipts 
being  more  than  sufficient  to  meet  its  expenses,  irrespec- 
tive of  the  Eoyal  aid,  which  was  discontinued  in  con- 
sequence after  1780.  The  receipts,  which  were  £2178  1 2s. 
in  1781,  rose  to  £2954  in  1792,  and  the  annual  expen- 
diture left  a  large  balance  in  favour  of  the  Academy.  Of 
the  style  and  appearance  of  these  interesting  displays  of 
the  abilities  of  the  artists  of  the  period,  we  may  readily 
form  some  notion1,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
prominent  places  in  the  exhibitions  would  be  occupied 
with  pictures  by  Eeynolds,  Lawrence,  West,  and  Opie, 
with  the  graceful  designs  of  Bartolozzi,  the  bold  concep- 
tions of  Fuseli,  the  pleasing  pictures  of  Hamilton,  Hodges, 
Humphreys,  Smirke,  Stothard,  Tresham,  and  Wheatley, 


1  Two    prints    published   at    the  were  views    of    the    exhibition  of 

period  will  also  assist  in  forming  an  1787,  and  the  Royal  family  visiting 

idea  of  the   general   appearance  of  the  exhibition  of  1788  by  Ramberg, 

the  exhibition  in  those  days.     They  engraved  by  P.  A.  Martini. 


CH.  V.]  THE  EXHIBITIONS  175 

the  landscapes  of  De  Loutherbourg,  Series,  Paul  Sandby, 
and  others,  and  the  sculptured  works  of  Banks,  Nollekens, 
and  Northcote.  Others,  younger  in  years  and  reputation, 
were  rising  into  notice ;  and  as  the  fathers  of  the  Academy 
were  one  by  one  removed,  a  new  generation  of  artists  was 
preparing  to  take  their  place,  and  to  maintain  the  repu- 
tation of  the  newly  founded  English  School  of  Art. 


176 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DURING  THE   PRESIDENCY  OF 
SIR  J.    REYNOLDS. 

Painters:  ZOFFANY,  HOAKE,  COSWAT,  BARRY,  PETERS,  COPLEY,  DE  LOTT- 
THERBOT7RG,  GARVEY,  RlGATTD,  FARLNGTON,  OPIE,  NORTHCOTE,  HODGES, 
RUSSELL,  HAMILTON,  FUSELI,  WEBBER,  WHEATLEY,  AND  HTJMPHREYS. 

Scttlptors:  BURCH,  NOLLEKENS,  BACON,  and  BANKS. 

Architects :  J.  WYATT,  AND  J.  YENN. 

mWENTY-FIVE  new  members  were  added  to  the 
J-  number  of  Eoyal  Academicians  during  the  period  of 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds's  presidentship.  Two  of  these  (viz. 
John  ZofFany  and  William  Hoare,  painters),  were  ap- 
pointed in  1769,  on  the  nomination  of  King  George  III., 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  original  thirty-four  members ; 
all  subsequent  appointments  were  made  by  the  ballot 
of  the  members.  Three  were  so  elected  in  1771-2,  viz. 
Eichard  Cosway,  painter,  Edward  Burch  and  Joseph 
ISTollekens  (sculptors),  from  among  the  newly-created  asso- 
ciates ;  and  in  1773,  James  Barry,  the  painter,  was  elected, 
thus  completing  the  full  number  of  Eoyal  Academicians, 
which  has  ever  since  been  kept  complete.  The  subse- 
quent elections  were  made  in  the  order  of  time  as  follows : 
-in  17 77,  William  Peters  (painter);  in  1778,  John 
Bacon  (sculptor) ;  in  1779,  J.  S.  Copley  (painter);  in  1781, 
P.  J.  de  Loutherbourg  (painter);  in  1783,  Edward 
Garvey  (painter) ;  in  1784,  J.  F.  Eigaud  (painter) ;  in 
1785,  Thomas  Banks  (sculptor) ;  James  Wyatt  (ar- 
chitect), and  Joseph  Farington  (painter) ;  in  1787, 
John  Opie,  James  Northcote,  and  William  Hodges 
(painters) ;  in  1788,  John  Eussell  (painter) ;  in  1789, 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  ZOFFANY  177 

William  Hamilton  (painter) ;  in  1790,  Henry  Fuseli 
(painter) ;  and  in  1791,  John  Yenn  (architect),  J.  Webber, 
F.  Wheatley,  and  0.  Humphreys  (painters). 

Of  these  new  Eoyal  Academicians,  nineteen  were 
painters,  four  sculptors,  and  two  architects.  We  pro- 
ceed first  to  notice  the  painters,  in  the  order  of  their 
appointment  to  full  academic  honours. 

JOIIANN  ZOFFANIJ,  or  Zoffany,  E.A.,  was  by  descent  a 
Bohemian,  but  his  father,  who  was  an  architect,  had  settled 
in  Germany  when  he  was  born.  According  to  Fiorillo, 
John  was  born  at  Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  in  1735,  but 
Zani  says  he  was  born  two  years  previously  at  Regens- 
burg  in  Bavaria.  He  was  early  sent  by  his  father  to 
Italy,  where  he  studied  for  several  years.  After  his  re- 
turn to  Germany,  he  practised  both  as  a  historical  and 
portrait  painter  at  Coblentz,  and  a  few  years  before  the 
foundation  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  he  came  to  reside  in 
London,  at  first  in  the  north-east  wing  of  Covent  Garden 
Piazza,  and  afterwards  at  No.  9  Denmark  Street.  For 
some  time  he  met  with  so  little  encouragement  that  he 
was  reduced  to  great  distress  ;  and  but  for  the  patronage 
of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  David  Garrick,  would  have 
found  it  impossible  to  obtain  the  reputation  he  subse- 
quently acquired,  first  by  a  portrait  of  the  Earl  of 
Barrymore,  and  afterwards  by  those  of  celebrated  dramatic 
performers  in  their  favourite  characters,  which  were  de- 
signed and  painted  with  surprising  truth  of  expression.  He 
painted  Garrick  as  'Sir  John  Bute,'  and  as  'Abel Druggers ' 
in  the  "  Alchymist,"  and  in  the  "  Farmer's  Return : "  also 
portraits  of  Foote,  as  Sturgeon  in  the  "Mayor  of  Garret," 
and  Weston  and  Foote  in  "  Dr.  Last."  All  of  these  became 
very  popular  by  the  engravings  made  from  them  by 
Dixon,  Finlayson,  and  Haid.  In  1771  he  painted  a  large 
picture  containing  ten  portraits  of  the  Royal  family, 
which  was  engraved  by  Earluin ;  and  three  years  after- 
wards a  picture  containing  thirty-six  portraits  of  the 

VOL.  I.  N 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

Academicians  assembled  in  the  life  school,  which  was  also 
engraved. 

Having  expressed  a  desire  to  revisit  Italy,  the  King 
was  pleased  to  interest  himself  so  far  on  the  occasion  as 
to  give  him  a  recommendation  to  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany.  While  he  was  at  Florence  he  painted  a  picture 
of  the  interior  of  the  gallery  there,  which  was  purchased 
by  George  in.  In  1781  he  went  to  India,  and  lived 
for  some  years  at  Lucknow,  where  he  acquired  a  com- 
petent fortune  by  the  exercise  of  his  art.  Three  of  his 
best  pictures,  engraved  by  Earlom,  were  painted  there — 
one  of  these,  '  the  Embassy  of  Hyderbeck  to  Calcutta,' 
contained  a  hundred  figures,  besides  elephants  and  horses  ; 
another  was,  '  an  Indian  Tiger  Hunt ; '  and  the  third,  '  a 
Cock  Fight,'  at  which  there  are  many  spectators.  He 
returned  to  London  about  1796  ;  but  although  he  con- 
tinued to  paint  after  his  return  from  India,  it  was  evident 
that  his  powers  as  well  as  his  health  were  weakened ;  for 
his  latest  productions  lack  the  spirit  and  vigour  of  his 
earlier  works.  He  died  at  KCW-,  on  the  16th  December, 
1810. 

WILLIAM  HOAEE,  E.A.,  the  last  artist  nominated  by  the 
King  to  the  rank  of  Eoyal  Academician,  was  a  historical 
and  portrait  painter,  born  at  Eye,  in  Suffolk,  in  1706. 
His  education  was  commenced  under  Grisoni,  an  Italian 
painter  residing  in  London.  He  subsequently  went  to 
Borne,  where  he  studied  for  nine  years  under  Francisco 
Fernandi,  called  D'Imperiali,  and  was  a  fellow-pupil  of 
Ponipeo  Battoni.  He  came  back  to  England,  bringing 
with  him  many  copies  and  studies  of  the  works  of  the 
great  masters,  and  established  himself  at  Bath,  where  he 
acquired  a  great  reputation  as  a  portrait  painter  in  oils 
and  crayons.  His  taste  was  rather  to  follow  historical 
painting ;  but  he  found  little  encouragement  in  that 
branch  of  art.  There  is,  however,  an  altar-piece  by  him 
in  St.  Michael's  Church,  at  Bath,  of  '  Christ  bearing  the 


CH.  ^7I]  HOARE— COSWAY  179 

Cross,'  and  another  in  the  Octagon  Chapel,  of  the  '  Lame 
Man  healed  at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda.'  He  was  a  constant 
contributor  to  the  exhibition  of  the  Eoyal  Academy. 
His  son,  Prince  Hoare,  both  a  painter  and  an  art-critic, 
was  for  many  years  the  Foreign  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  Academy,  and  the  author  of  "  An  Inquiry  into 
the  requisite  Cultivation  and  present  State  of  the  Arts  of 
Design  in  England,"  "  Academic  Annals,"  and  many  dra- 
matic pieces.  William  Hoare  died  at  Bath  in  1792. 

EICIIAKD  COSWAY,  E.A.,  was  born  in  1741,  at  Tiverton, 
in  Devonshire  (the  native  county  of  Eeynolds),  where  his 
family  had  long  been  settled,  and  where  his  father  held 
the  appointment  of  Master  of  the  Public  School.  His 
uncle,  the  mayor  of  Tiverton,  placed  him  with  Hudson, 
under  whom  Eeynolds  also  studied ;  and  he  subsequently 
attended  Shipley's  drawing  school  in  the  Strand,  where 
he  made  rapid  progress,  and  soon  displayed  the  genius 
for  which,  especially  as  a  miniature  painter,  he  afterwards 
became  celebrated.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  gained 
the  Society  of  Arts'  premium  of  five  pounds ;  and  in  the 
course  of  the  next  ten  years  he  had  obtained  four  more 
premiums  from  the  same  society.  Subsequently,  in  the 
Duke  of  Eichmond's  sculpture  gallery,  he  acquired  great 
skill  in  copying  the  fine  flowing  outline  of  the  Grecian 
statue,  and  won  the  praises  of  Bartolozzi  and  Cipriani, 
and  soon  took  a  high  position  among  the  artists  of  the 
day. 

He  was  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  17G9,  an 
associate  in  1770,  and  a  Eoyal  Academician  in  1771,  and 
painted  several  fancy  pictures,  pertaining  more  to  poetry 
than  to  portraiture,  for  its  exhibitions.  Among  these  were 
4  Einaldo  and  Armida,'  4  Cupid,'  '  St.  John,'  '  Venus  and 
Cupid,'  '  Madonna  and  Child,'  and  '  Psyche,'  all  of  which 
in  reality  were  portraits  of  some  of  his  titled  patrons, 
good  likenesses,  and  successful  works.  He  sometimes 
painted  in  oil,  and  in  this  style  showed  his  predilection 

K    2 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

for  the  manner  of  Correggio ;  but  his  chief  excellence 
was  in  miniature  painting,  both  in  oil  and  water  colour, 
for  which  he  had  an  exquisite  taste,  and  bade  defiance 
to  any  attempts  at  rivalry.  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  spoke 
highly  of  his  talents,  and  recommended  him  very  warmly 
to  his  own  sitters.  The  patronage  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  for  whom  he  painted  a  miniature  of  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert,  which  gave  great  satisfaction,  alone  proved  of 
great  value  to  him,  and  supplied  him  with  continual  em- 
ployment either  at  Carlton  House,  or  in  the  gay  world  of 
which  the  Prince  was  then  the  leader.  People  of  the 
highest  rank  eulogised  and  courted  Cosway,  and  he 
quickly  became,  without  a  question,  the  fashionable 
miniature  painter  of  his  day.  All  his  portraits  are 
characterised  by  exquisite  grace,  neatness  and  finish,  and 
were  drawn  with  great  freedom  and  skill.  But  as  in  the 
engravings  of  Bartolozzi,  the  artist  had  a  preconceived 
ideal  of  beauty  in  his  own  mind,  influenced  by  which  the 
resemblance  to  the  original  was  frequently  lost ;  so  in  the 
desire  to  produce  a  pleasing  picture,  Cosway  sometimes 
sacrificed  the  value  of  the  portrait  as  a  likeness.  To  this 
failing,  may  probably  be  attributed  the  circumstance  that 
Cosway  is  said  to  have  painted  more  lovers'  presentation 
pictures  than  any  ten  artists  of  his  time.  He  excelled 
most  of  all  in  the  small  whole-length  figures  he  drew  of 
certain  ladies  of  fashion,  celebrated  for  their  beauty. 
The  figures  were  drawn  in  a  loose,  unconstrained  style, 
purely  his  own,  with  the  blacklead  pencil ;  the  faces  were 
painted  in  miniature,  and  frequently  highly  finished. 
They  are  captivating  specimens  of  his  peculiar  style,  and 
many  of  them,  as  well  as  of  his  other  works,  were  en- 
graved by  Bartolozzi,  V.  Green,  and  others.  When 
painting  miniatures,  it  was  Cosway 's  custom  to  have  a 
small  panel  with  an  oval  opening  cut  in  the  centre,  of 
the  exact  size  of  the  frame  to  enclose  the  picture,  fixed 
to  a  stand  which  was  placed  at  his  elbow :  moving  this 
occasionally  at  a  chosen  distance,  he  looked  through  the 


CH.  VI.]  RICHARD  COSWAY  181 

aperture  at  his  sitter,  and  compared  it  with  his  picture  as 
he  proceeded.  By  this  means,  he  said  that  he  acquired  the 
habit  of  comparing  nature  with  his  work,  and  that  his  mind 
became  so  abstracted  in  the  study  as  not  to  distinguish  a 
difference  between  the  original  and  his  imitation  of  it. 

Shortly  after  his  election  as  a  Royal  Academician,  he 
married  Maria  Hadfield,  who,  though  of  English  parent- 
age, was  a  native  of  Leghorn,  where  her  father  kept  an 
hotel  much  frequented  by  English  travellers.  After  her 
marriage,  she  also  became  known  as  an  exhibitor  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  and  painted  many  portraits  and  other 
works  of  a  poetic  and  imaginative  nature ;  but  her  hus- 
band would  never  allow  her  to  paint  portraits  profes- 
sionally. When  he  found  himself  high  in  Court  favour, 
at  the  suggestion  of  his  wife,  he  removed  from  Berkeley 
Street  to  Pall  Mall  (in  the  middle  portion  of  the  large 
house  built  for  the  Duke  of  Schomberg,  recently  incor- 
porated with  the  War  Office),  where  for  some  years,  and 
afterwards  at  a  splendid  mansion  in  Stratford  Place, 
Oxford  Street,  the  musical  parties  given  by  Mrs.  Cosway 
(and  at  which  she  was  the  principal  performer),  were 
among  the  chief  attractions  of  the  fashionable  world. 
The  carriages  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  other  persons 
of  distinction  were  constantly  to  be  seen  at  Cosway's 
house,  which  became  the  morning  lounge  of  the  aris- 
tocracy. Nor  was  it  without  its  artistic  attractions — for 
besides  being  superbly  furnished  in  the  olden  style,  it 
contained  a  vast  collection  of  pictures  by  the  ancient 
masters,  old  armour,  and  various  curiosities :  and  the 
studio  of  Cosway  was  a  museum  full  of  rich  specimens  of 
all  that  is  choice  in  the  pursuits  of  vertu. 

Late  in  life  (and  he  lived  to  a  great  age)  he  considered 
it  a  favour  to  paint  a  miniature;  and  it  can  scarcely 
be  wondered  at  that  he  fell  into  the  folly  of  vanity, 
when  we  think  of  his  remarkable  success  in  life,  and  the 
popularity  he  had  attained.  Yet  the  satires  suggested 
by  envy,  and  his  own  restless  sensitive  spirit,  hindered 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VI. 

him  from  being  really  happy.  Added  to  this,  he  passed 
several  of  his  last  years  in  pain  both  of  body  and  mind. 
A  paralytic  stroke  disabled  his  right  hand,  and  thus  cut 
off  from  him  the  power  of  drawing,  and  his  only  conso- 
lation was  in  the  tender  solicitude  of  his  wife.  It  was 
painful  to  his  friends  and  admirers,  with  whom  his  well- 
stored  mind  and  natural  turn  for  humour  led  him  to  be 
regarded  as  a  most  pleasant  companion,  to  behold  also  a 
weakness  of  intellect,  which  led  him  to  indulge  in  many 
extravagant  fancies  and  delusions  in  his  latter  days. 
Shortly  before  his  death,  he  dispersed  his  collection  of 
pictures  and  curiosities,  and  removed  from  Stratford  Place 
to  Edgware  Eoad,  where  he  died  on  the  4th  July,  1821, 
in  his  80th  year.  He  was  buried  at  the  New  Church  of 
St.  Marylebone,  where  a  tablet  is  erected  to  his  memory. 
His  widow  retired  to  Lodi,  where  she  had  formerly  spent 
some  years,  and  established  a  ladies'  college.  She  died 
there,  widely  respected,  several  years  afterwards. 

JAMES  BAKEY'S  name  must  still  find  a  place  among  the 
members  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  notwithstanding  the 
painful  circumstances  which  led  to  his  expulsion  from  their 
Society.  He  was  born  on  the  llth  of  October,  1741,  at 
Cork,  where  his  father,  John  Barry  (a  descendant  of  the 
same  family  as  the  Earls  of  Barrymore),  was  a  coasting 
trader,  for  which  profession  he  also  was  intended ;  but 
after  making  two  or  three  voyages  with  disgust,  and 
having  exhibited  considerable  talent  in  drawing,  he  was 
permitted  to  follow  his  inclinations,  and  to  obtain  such 
education  in  art  as  the  schools  of  Cork  afforded.  He 
afterwards  received  instruction  in  the  school  at  Dublin, 
kept  by  Mr.  West — a  teacher  who  had  studied  under 
Vanloo  and  Boucher,  and  who  was  reckoned  a  very  able 
draughtsman  of  the  human  figure.  As  early  as  the  age 
of  seventeen  Barry  attempted  painting  in  oil,  and  before 
he  was  twenty-two  he  painted  a  historical  picture  which 
first  brought  him  into  notice  as  an  artist.  This  was  a 


CH.  VI.]  JAMES  BAERY  183 

representation  of  St.  Patrick  on  the  shore  of  Cashel,  who 
in  baptizing  the  sovereign  of  the  district  had  planted  the 
sharp  end  of  his  crozier  through  the  foot  of  the  monarch, 
unperceived  by  himself,  and  unresented  by  his  convert. 
This  work,  exhibited  at  the  Society  of  Arts  in  Dublin, 
led  to  his  introduction  to  Edmund  Burke,  who  discerned 
in  it  such  evidence  of  genius  as  induced  him  shortly 
afterwards  to  take  the  artist  with  him  to  England,  where 
he  gave  him  ah1  the  advantages  of  his  patronage.  Here 
he  was  introduced  to  Barret,  his  countryman,  who  was 
then  acquiring  fame  and  honours  as  a  landscape  painter 
in  London. 

In  1766,  under  the  protection  and  with  the  assistance 
of  Burke,  Barry  went  to  Italy,  first  stopping  at  Paris  to 
examine  the  productions  of  Le  Soeur,  Poussin  and 
Eaffaelle,  in  the  Luxembourg.  Shortly  after  his  arrival 
in  Eome,  Barry's  irritable  temper,  which  afterwards 
proved  of  so  much  annoyance  to  himself  and  others,  in- 
volved him  in  a  series  of  disputes  with  the  artists  and 
virtuosi  in  that  city,  which  being  reported  to  Burke, 
called  forth  a  letter  of  admonition  from  his  patron.  In 
Eome  he  adopted  a  singular  mode  of  study :  he  drew 
from  the  antique  by  means  of  a  patent  delineator,  not 
aiming  to  make  academic  drawings,  but  a  sort  of  diagram, 
in  which  a  scale  of  proportion  was  observed,  to  which 
he  might  at  all  times  refer  as  a  guide  and  authority.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  1770  he  returned  to  London, 
visiting  Florence,  Turin,  Bologna,  &c.  On  his  way  to 
the  latter  city  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Clementine 
Academy  there. 

In  1771  he  exhibited  his  first  picture  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  which  he  began  shortly  after  his  arrival  at 
Eome,  the  subject  being  '  Adam  and  Eve  ; '  and  the 
next  year  he  produced  his  much-admired  whole-length 
picture  of  *  Venus  rising  from  the  Sea.'  He  became 
an  Associate  in  1772  and  E.A.  in  1773.  The  works 
by  which  he  attained  these  honours  were  followed  by 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VI. 

another,  '  Jupiter  and  Juno,'  his  first  attempt  at  the 
grand  style  of  art.  About  this  time  '  The  Death  of 
General  Wolfe,'  was  a  popular  subject  with  the  artists 
of  the  day,  and  had  been  represented  by  West,  Penny, 
Komney,  Mortimer,  and  others.  In  1776  Barry  also 
chose  the  same  subject,  but  his  picture  was  generally 
condemned,  for  (probably  to  display  his  knowledge  of 
the  human  form)  he  represented  all  the  figures  nude; 
and,  angry  at  not  being  flattered  for  his  skill,  he  never 
afterwards  exhibited  at  the  Academy.  Up  to  this  time 
he  lived  in  Suffolk  Street,  Haymarket. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  part  taken  by  Barry 
in  the  offer  made  by  the  Eoyal  Academy,  to  paint  gra- 
tuitously a  series  of  pictures  for  St.  Paul's  ;  and  also  the 
subsequent  rejection  by  the  members  of  the  Academy  of 
the  proposal  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  that  their  new  room 
should  be  decorated  with  paintings  by  them.  Barry 
was  greatly  mortified  at  this,  for  he  was  eager  to  exhibit 
his  talents,  and  to  refute  publicly  the  unjust  opinions  of 
English  artists,  which  he  found  to  prevail  on  the  Con- 
tinent. Winckelmann  and  Du  Bos  had  asserted  that  the 
English  were  incapable  of  excellence  in  any  of  the  higher 
walks  of  art ;  and  Barry  attaching  more  importance  than 
was  due  to  such  sweeping  conclusions,  undertook  formally 
to  refute  them. 

With  this  object  he  published  in  1775  "  An  Inquiry 
into  the  real  and  imaginary  Obstructions  to  the  Acquisi- 
tion of  the  Arts  in  England,"  and  offered  the  Society  of 
Arts  to  paint  a  series  of  pictures  for  their  great  room, 
on  the  condition  that  the  Society  provided  him  with 
canvas,  colours,  and  models  proper  to  carry  it  into 
execution.  His  offer  was  accepted,  and  his  grand  work 
now  enriches  the  Society's  room  in  the  Adelphi.  The 
series  consists  of  six  pictures,  namely,  '  Orpheus  reciting 
his  verses  to  the  wild  inhabitants  of  Thrace,'  '  A  Grecian 
Ilarvest  Home,'  '  The  Victors  at  Olympia,'  '  The 
triumph  of  the  Thames,'  '  The  Society  distributing  their 


CH.  VI.]  JAMES  BARRY  185 

Prizes,'    and  '  Final  Eetribution.'     These    pictures,   de- 
signed to  illustrate  the  position   that  the  happiness   of 
mankind  is  promoted  in  proportion  to  the   cultivation 
of  knowledge,  appear  somewhat  dissimilar  and  hetero- 
geneous, yet  each  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  general  sub- 
ject with  wonderful  force  and  unity,  and  in  regarding 
them  we  are  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  such  a 
work  could  neither  have  been  conceived  nor  executed 
except  by  a   mind   of  the   highest  order.     Some  inac- 
curacies of   drawing  and  defects   of  colour   are  to  be 
met  with  in  Barry's  work,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  not 
only  a  splendid  example  of  pictorial  skill,  but  embodies 
whatever  impressions  have  been  transmitted  to  us   by 
poetry  or  history  of  the  events  represented.     In  accom- 
plishing this  task  Barry  fulfilled  the  great  aim  of  his 
life — to  attain  the  reputation  of  a  great  historical  painter. 
But  it  was  purchased  by  no  slight  sacrifice,  through  seven 
years  of  hardship  and  privation,  and  met  with  no  pro- 
portionate reward  at  its  close.     An  extraordinary  meet- 
ing of  the  Society  of  Arts  was  held  to  view  the  pictures, 
at  which  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  painter  was  passed, 
and  permission  given  for  their  public  exhibition  for  his 
benefit.     He  obtained  £500  as  the  result,  and  £200  was 
added  to  it  by  the  Society — these  sums  comprise  nearly 
the  whole  produce  of  his  professional  career.     During 
the    exhibition    of   the    pictures   in   1783   he  issued  a 
pamphlet  descriptive  of  the  series,  and  also  proposals 
for  engraving  and  publishing  by  subscription  a  set  of 
prints  from  the  pictures ;  and  with  his  usual  independent 
spirit,   he   undertook   and   completed   the   task  himself 
without  any  assistance,  even  to  the  writing  and  printing 
on  copper,  and  finished  the  plates  about  the  year  1793. 

In  1782,  when  Mr.  Penny  resigned  the  chair  of  Pro- 
fessor of  Painting  at  the  lloyal  Academy,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  that  office.  The  length  of  time  he  took  in 
preparing  his  lectures  (the  first  not  being  given  till  1784) 
called  forth  a  remonstrance  from  the  President,  to  which 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

Barry  with  clenched  fist  and  rude  gesture  replied,  "  If 
I  had  only  in  composing  my  lectures  to  produce  such 
poor  mistaken  stuff  as  your  discourses,  I  should  have 
my  work  done,  and  ready  to  read."  The  conscious 
dignity  and  tranquil  temper  of  Eeynolds  alike  restrained 
him  from  making  any  reply ;  but  the  conduct  of  Barry 
on  this  occasion,  with  other  causes, — such  as  his  per- 
petual altercations  with  the  members,  a  naturally  fierce, 
turbulent,  and  irritable  disposition,  intemperance  in  his 
language  (particularly  in  his  lectures,  which  abounded  in 
ridicule  of  the  works  of  his  contemporaries),  and  a 
coarse  attack  upon  the  President  and  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  —  led  to  his  removal  from  the  office  of 
Professor  of  Painting,  and  finally  to  his  expulsion  from 
the  Academy  in  1799.  These  proceedings  will  be  de- 
tailed in  a  subsequent  chapter.  It  is  here  only  to  be 
observed,  that  an  apology,  though  certainly  not  a  justi- 
fication of  the  conduct  of  Barry,  may  be  found  in  the 
bitterness  of  feeling  which  disappointment  through  years 
of  labour  had  generated,  and  in  the  exasperation  of  his 
naturally  excitable  temperament,  produced  by  the  little 
sympathy  or  notice  which  he  met  with  from  the  public. 
The  immediate  act  which  led  to  his  dismissal  from  the 
Academy,  was  the  publication  in  1797  of  his  famous 
"  Letter  to  the  Dilletanti  Society,  respecting  the  obtention 
of  certain  matters  essentially  necessary  for  the  improve- 
ment of  taste,  and  for  accomplishing  the  original  views 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy  of  Great  Britain."  He  subse- 
quently issued  a  second  edition,  with  an  appendix  relative 
to  his  differences  with  the  Academicians. 

His  series  of  lectures  contain  much  originality  of 
thought,  and  sterling  subject  matter,  and  he  brought  both 
his  great  knowledge  and  experience  to  illustrate  them — 
but  they  display  a  strong  partiality  for  the  outward  form 
of  art,  and  for  technical  execution  rather  than  for  its 
sentiment.  His  last  literary  work  was  an  address  to  the 
King,  published  in  the  "  Morning  Herald,"  3rd  Decem- 


CH.  VI.]  JAMES  BARRY  187 

ber,  1799.  He  had  previously  revised  a  new  edition  of 
Pilkington's  "  Dictionary  of  Painters."  In  addition  to 
the  pictures  already  mentioned,  may  be  named  among 
the  other  works  of  Barry,  'Job  reproved  by  his  Friends,' 
engraved  by  himself,  and  dedicated  to  Mr.  Burke; 
'  George  III.  delivering  the  Patent  to  the  Judges,  of 
their  office  for  life ; '  and  '  The  Queen  and  Princesses 
patronising  Education  at  Windsor,'  intended  as  additions 
to  the  series  of  pictures  in  the  Adelphi.  These,  and 
4  The  Conversion  of  Polemon,' '  Philoctetes  in  the  Island 
of  Lemnos,'  and  several  sacred  subjects,  are  among  his 
principal  works. 

Latterly  he  lived  at  No.  36  Castle  Street,  Oxford 
Street,  and  here  when  Burke  visited  him,  he  was  found 
dressing  his  dinner,  of  which  his  eminent  friend  partook, 
after  being  requested  by  Barry  to  go  to  an  adjoining 
public-house  to  fetch  the  beer. 

In  1805  some  friends  of  Barry  (particularly  the 
generous  Earl  of  Buchan)  procured  a  subscription  in 
the  Society  of  Arts  to  purchase  an  annuity  for  his  life, 
which  amounted  to  about  £1000,  but  unfortunately  he 
did  not  live  even  to  receive  the  first  payment  of  it.  He 
was  taken  ill  at  a  tavern  where  he  usually  dined,  and 
was  removed  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Bonomi,  the  architect, 
No.  76  Titchfield  Street,  Oxford  Street,  where  he  sunk 
under  an  attack  of  pleuritic  fever,  which  his  obstinate 
rejection  of  medical  aid  in  the  first  instance  rendered 
fatal.  He  died  on  the  21st  February,  1806,  and  his 
remains  after  lying  in  state  in  the  great  room  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  which  he  had  adorned  by  his  skill,  were 
interred  in  a  vault  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
near  the  last  resting-place  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds. 

WILLIAM  PETERS,  R.A.,  was  born  in  Dublin,  where  his 
father  held  an  appointment  in  the  custom-house.  He 
acquired  the  first  rudiments  of  drawing  from  Mr.  West, 


188  HISTORY   OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VL 

the  master  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design  in  that 
city,  and  after  a  short  time  was  sent  by  some  patrons 
(who  saw  signs  of  art-genius  developing  themselves)  to 
Italy,  where  he  copied  a  celebrated  picture  at  Parma  by 
San  Gierolorno  (his  copy  of  which  afterwards  became 
the  altar-piece  of  the  church  of  Saffron  Walden  in  Essex), 
and  also  Eubens's  '  Four  Philosophers'  in  the  Petti  Palace 
at  Florence.  These  works  obtained  for  him  the  patron- 
age of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  who,  in  1782  sent  him  to 
Paris  to  copy  a  picture  by  Le  Brun  in  the  Carmelite 
Church.  He  also  painted  for  BoydelPs  Shakspeare 
Gallery,  scenes  from  '  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor ' 
and  '  Much  Ado  about  Nothing  ; '  besides  portraits  and 
fancy  subjects  for  other  patrons.  In  his  style  of  paint- 
ing he  greatly  resembled  the  impasto  of  Sir  J.  Eeynolds. 
There  are  engravings  from  his  works  in  the  Boydell 
Shakspeare,  in  Macklin's  Gallery,  and.  others  by  Bar- 
tolozzi,  and  J.  E.  Smith.  He  painted  both  historical 
pictures  and  portraits  with  success.  A  full-length  por- 
trait by  him  of  '  George  IV.  when  Prince  of  Wales,'  is 
now  in  Freemasons'  Hall. 

It  is  not  exactly  known  why  he  abandoned  painting 
as  a  profession,  as  personally  he  did  not  lack  patronage 
or  lucrative  employment.  But  it  is  said  that  a  lady  of 
rank  asked  him  to  recommend  to  her  a  good  landscape 
painter,  and  that,  knowing  Wilson's  need  of  employment, 
he  at  once  named  him  to  her,  and  obtained  a  commission 
for  two  pictures  :  when  he  made  known  his  success  to 
Wilson,  the  poor  artist  confessed  his  utter  inability  even 
to  purchase  canvas  and  colours  to  execute  the  task  ;  and 
Peters  was  so  saddened  by  seeing  Wilson,  with  all  his 
genius,  nearly  starving,  that  he  at  once  resolved  to  re- 
nounce art  as  a  profession. 

He  had  been  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy in  1771,  and  was  chosen  to  be  a  Eoyal  Academican 
in  1777,  but  he  resigned  these  honours  in  1790.  Some 
years  prior  to  this,  he  had  entered  Exeter  College,  Ox- 


CH.  VI.J  PETERS  —  COPLEY  189 

ford,  took  the  degree  of  LL.B.,  was  ordained,  and  became 
Eector  of  Woolstorp  in  Lincolnshire  and  Knipton  in 
Leicester,  Prebend  of  Lincoln,  Chaplain  to  H.E.H.  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  (from  1784  to  1788)  Chaplain  to 
the  Eoyal  Academy.  After  resigning  his  connection 
with  it,  he  continued  as  an  honorary  member,  to  exhibit 
occasionally  pictures  bearing  on  subjects  in  harmony  with 
his  new  position.  *  The  Pious  Family  bursting  from  a 
Sepulchre,'  'The  Angel  carrying  the  Spirit  of  a  Child 
into  Paradise,'  '  The  Cherub,'  and  other  kindred  subjects, 
occupied  his  pencil  at  intervals  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 
He  died  at  Brasted  Place  in  Kent,  in  April  1814. 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Boston  in 
the  United  States,  on  3rd  July,  1737.  His  father,  John 
Copley,  had  married  Mary  Singleton,  an  Irish  lady,  and 
had  long  been  resident  in  Ireland,  although  of  English 
extraction.  Their  son  was  born  immediately  after  his 
parents'  arrival  in  America,  and  was  educated  in  that 
country.  He  taught  himself  to  paint  without  the  aid 
of  instructors,  by  studying  the  scenery  around  his  father's 
residence,  and  thus  acquired  much  more  skill  than 
many  who  had  greater  advantages.  It  is  a  curious  coin- 
cidence, that  thus  simultaneously  both  Copley  and  West 
were  labouring  to  prepare  themselves  for  future  distinc- 
tion in  art,  in  the  same  distant  country.  The  first  picture 
by  which  attention  was  attracted  to  him  in  England,  was 
one  painted  in  1760,  the  subject  being  4  A  Boy  with  a 
tame  Squirrel.'  For  some  years  subsequently,  he  was 
making  a  good  income  by  portrait  painting  in  his  native 
town,  but  was  sighing  for  a  visit  to  Europe.  After  leav- 
ing a  number  of  paintings  with  his  mother  in  Boston, 
and  supplying  himself  from  his  earnings  with  a  sufficient 
sum  of  money  for  a  three  years'  tour  in  Europe,  he  set 
sail  from  Boston  in  1774,  and  arrived  in  England,  leaving 
it  again  on  the  26th  of  August  of  that  year  for  Eome. 
There  he  stayed  till  the  following  May,  when  he  pro- 


190  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VL 

ceeded  to  other  parts  of  the  Continent  to  study  the 
Venetian  and  Flemish  Schools,  and  at  Parma  copied  the 
famous  Correggio.  At  the  end  of  1775  he  returned  to 
London,  and  resided  at  25  George  Street,  Hanover 
Square.  He  had  previously  sought  the  help  of  West  in 
obtaining  an  introduction  to  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  in 
1776  he  exhibited  his  first  work  there,  '  A  Conversation.' 
In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  E.A. 
in  1779. 

The  picture  by  which  Copley  established  his  fame  was 
that  representing  '  The  Death  of  Lord  Chatham,'  now 
in  the  National  Collection.  It  contained  so  many  por- 
traits of  members  of  the  House  of  Peers,  that  it  was 
universally  sought  after,  and  the  fame  of  the  picture  was 
sustained  by  a  large  engraving  from  it  by  Bartolozzi,  of 
which  2500  impressions  were  sold  in  a  few  weeks. 
America  joined  in  the  praises  of  the  artist,  and  his  aged 
mother's  heart  was  gladdened  at  her  son's  success. 
Washington,  when  acknowledging  a  copy  of  the  print 
sent  him  by  Copley,  said,  "  This  work,  highly  valuable 
in  itself,  is  rendered  more  estimable  in  my  eyes,  when 
I  remember  that  America  gave  birth  to  the  celebrated 
artist  who  produced  it ; "  and  John  Adams  wrote,  "  I 
shall  preserve  my  copy  both  as  a  token  of  your  friend- 
ship, and  as  an  indubitable  proof  of  American  genius." 
Another  work,  displaying  less  of  the  dry  and  stiff  man- 
ner of  this  picture,  also  excited  great  attention,  '  The 
Death  of  Major  Pierson,'  a  young  officer  who  fell  in  the 
defence  of  St.  Heliers,  Jersey,  against  the  French.  This 
picture  was  painted  for  Boydell ;  and  when  long  after- 
wards his  gallery  was  dispersed,  it  was  purchased  back 
by  the  artist,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  illus- 
trious son,  the  venerable  Lord  Lyndhurst.  Another 
picture,  painted  for  the  Common  Council  of  London, 
now  in  Guildhall,  represented  on  a  large  canvas,  '  The 
Eepulse  and  Defeat  of  the  Spanish  Floating  Batteries  at 
Gibraltar,'  in  which  portraits  of  the  gallant  Lord  Heath- 


CH.  VI.]  COPLEY  —  DE  LOUTHERBOURG  191 

field  and  others  were  introduced.  A  picture  of  another 
kind,  bequeathed  by  him  to  Christ's  Hospital,  represented 
'The  Escape  of  a  Sea-boy  from  a  Shark.'  But  while 
he  painted  such  subjects  and  portraits  in  great  numbers, 
his  ambition  was  to  be  able  to  excel  in  historical  com- 
positions. Most  of  his  pictures  in  this  style  were  taken 
from  the  history  of  England,  and  particularly  the  period 
of  the  Revolution.  Among  them,  were  'King  Charles 
signing  Strafford's  Death  Warrant,'  'The  Assassination 
of  Buckingham,'  '  King  Charles  addressing  the  Citizens 
of  London,'  'The  Five  Impeached  Members  brought 
back  in  Triumph,'  '  The  King's  Escape  from  Hampton 
Court,'  &c.  He  also  painted  a  view  of  '  The  House  of 
Commons  visiting  the  Army  at  Hounslow.'  Occasion- 
ally he  chose  sacred  subjects,  and  his  last  work  (with  the 
exception  of  a  portrait  of  his  son  painted  in  1814)  was 
'  The  Resurrection.'  He  died  9th  December,  1815, 
aged  seventy-eight  years.  His  son,  who  is  eminent  both 
as  a  profound  lawyer  and  a  great  statesman,  has  long 
occupied  his  father's  house  in  George  Street,  Hanover 
Square,  and  has  with  praiseworthy  devotedness  collected 
within  its  walls  the  best  works  of  his  distinguished 
parent. 

PHILIP  JAMES  DE  LOUTHEKBOURG,  R.A.,  was  born  at 
Strasburg,  on  31st  October,  1740,  and  was  the  son  of  a 
miniature  painter  who  died  at  Paris  in  17G8.  He  intended 
his  son  for  an  engineer  in  the  army,  while  his  mother 
wished  him  to  become  a  minister  in  the  Lutheran  Church, 
and  he  was  educated  at  the  College  of  Strasburg,  in  lan- 
guages and  mathematics,  as  a  preparation  for  it,  until  his 
decided  propensity  for  painting  led  him  to  determine  to 
pursue  it  as  a  profession.  He  at  first  studied  under  Tisch- 
bein,  afterwards  under  Vanloo  and  Casanova,  but  formed 
his  principles  and  style  upon  those  of  the  last  named,  who 
was  then  in  great  vogue  as  a  historical  painter.  After 
having  obtained  considerable  reputation  at  Paris  by  the 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

works  which  he  exhibited  at  the  Louvre,  and  having  been 
elected  in  1763  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Painting 
there  (when  eight  years  below  the  limit  of  age  for  his 
admission),  De  Loutherbourg  quitted  I  ranee  and  travelled 
in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  coming  finally,  in 
1771,  to  England,  where  he  was  at  once  engaged  by 
Garrick  at  a  salary  of  £500  per  annum,  to  make  designs 
for  the  scenes  and  decorations  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre. 
His  vigorous  style  of  execution,  poetical  imagination,  and 
perfect  knowledge  of  scenic  effects,  well  qualified  him  for 
a  department  of  art  which  demands  them  all,  and  which 
is  only  held  to  be  a  subordinate  one,  because  its  pro- 
ductions are  soon  laid  aside  and  entirely  forgotten.  While 
his  own  peculiar  forte  was  in  landscape  painting,  by  his 
education  he  was  enabled  to  give  to  it  a  greater  compass 
and  range  of  subjects  than  usual.  Besides  his  easel 
pictures,  he  occasionally  employed  his  pencil  on  a  larger 
scale,  in  depicting  the  events  of  his  time.  Thus  among 
his  most  popular  pictures  were  the  'Eeview  of  Warley 
Camp  (1780),'  'Lord  Howe's  Victory  on  1st  June,  1794,' 
and  the  '  Storming  of  Valenciennes.'  For  Macklin's  Bible 
pictures,  he  painted  two,  representing  the  '  Deluge,'  and 
the  '  Angel  destroying  the  Assyrian  Host.'  Ah1  his  works 
are  stamped  by  great  vigour  and  by  excellent  manage- 
ment in  regard  to  composition.  He  possessed  great 
dexterity  of  hand,  but  sometimes  displayed  the  foibles  of 
a  mannerist,  and  a  meretricious  gaudiness  of  colouring, 
destroying  the  tempered  harmony  of  effect  so  observable 
in  nature.  His  best  landscapes  are  views  of  lakes  and 
coast  scenery. 

Soon  after  settling  in  this  country,  De  Loutherbourg 
took  up  his  abode  at  No.  45  Titchfield  Street,  Oxford 
Street,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1780,  and  E.A.  in 
1781.  He  produced  in  1782,  under  the  title  of  the 
'  Eidophusikon,  or  a  Eepresentation  of  Nature,'  a  novel 
and  highly  interesting  exhibition,  displaying  the  changes 
of  the  elements  and  their  phenomena,  in  a  calm,  a  moon- 


CH.  VL]  GARVEY  — KIGATJD  193 

light,  a  sunset,  and  a  storm  at  sea,  by  the  aid  of  reflect- 
ing transparent  gauzes  highly  illuminated.  Gainsborough 
frequently  visited  and  admired  this  spectacle,  which 
not  only  anticipated,  but  in  some  respects  surpassed  our 
present  dioramas,  although  upon  a  smaller  scale.  He  also 
etched  in  aquatinta  several  of  his  own  compositions  re- 
presenting soldiers,  marine  subjects,  and  landscapes.  Late 
in  life  he  unhappily  became  a  disciple  of  Brothers,  and 
like  him  also  professed  to  be  a  prophet  and  a  curer  of 
diseases.  Some  of  his  predictions  having  failed,  his  house 
was  attacked,  and  his  windows  broken  by  an  angry  mob, 
and  he  was  thus  silenced  from  issuing  any  more  pre- 
dictions. He  died  at  his  residence^  in  Hammersmith 
Terrace,  -Ghiswick,  on  the  llth  March,  1812,  in  his  - 

73rd  year. 

» 


EDMUND  GARVEY,  E.A.,  was  one  of  the  first  Associates 
elected  in  1770,  and  was  chosen  E.A.  in  1783.  Very  little 
is  known  of  his  history,  except  that  from  his  connexion 
he  is  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  an  Irish  family.  He 
painted  landscapes  in  the  manner  of  Wilson :  his  exe- 
cution was  neat,  but  rather  dry.  He  was  a  constant 
contributor  to  the  exhibitions  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
sometimes  painting  in  oil,  and  at  others  in  water-colours. 
Many  of  his  pictures  were  scenes  from  Eome,  Savoy,  and 
the  Alps ;  others  of  gentlemen's  mansions  and  remarkable 
places  in  this  country.  He  died  in  1813,  and  left  many 
small  pictures,  which  were  sold  by  auction  in  1816. 

JOHN  FRANCIS  EIGAUD,  E.A.,  was  probably  of  French 
or  Swiss  origin,  several  artists  of  the  same  name  having 
flourished  in  Paris  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  many  of  whom  passed  several  years  in  England. 
He  practised  as  a  historical  painter,  and  was  one  of  the 
artists  chosen  by  Boydell  to  illustrate  the  works  of 
Shakspeare.  He  also  painted  subjects  selected  from 

VOL.  i.  o 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  VI. 

Scripture,  and  English  history,  mythology,  and  portraits. 
He  was  chosen  an  Associate  in  1772,  and  elected  E.A.  in 
1784.  He  translated  Leonardi  da  Vinci's  '  Treatise  on 
Painting,'  and  published  it  with  illustrative  copper  plates. 
Several  engravings  have  been  made  from  his  pictures, 
which  in  style  follow  rather  the  manner  of  the  French 
than  the  English  school.  He  died  on  6th  December,  1810, 
at  Packington,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Aylesford.  He 
received  many  honours  from  abroad,  having  being  elected 
a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Bologna,  and  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  of  Stockholm :  he  was  also  appointed  historical 
painter  to  Gustavus  IV.,  King  of  Sweden. 

JOSEPH  FAKINGTON,  E.A.,  descended  from  an  ancient 
family,  was  a  son  of  the  Eev.  Wm.  Farington,  B.D.,  Sector 
of  "Warrington  and  Vicar  of  Leigh,  in  Lancashire.  He 
was  born  in  1742,  and  studied  landscape  painting  under 
Eichard  Wilson.  He  was  admitted  a  student  at  the 
Academy  on  its  formation,  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1783,  and  E.A.  in  1785.  His  works  are  chiefly  views  of 
the  lake  scenery  of  Westmorland  and  Cumberland,  many 
of  which  were  engraved  by  Byrne  and  others.  His 
colouring  was  clear  and  transparent,  but  his  drawing 
sometimes  hard.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  govern- 
ment and  management  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  :  he  first 
brought  forward,  as  one  of  the  auditors,  the  plan  for 
increasing  the  income  of  the  Academy  which  was  adopted 
in  1809,  and  proposed  some  important  resolutions  in 
regard  to  the  pension  fund.  In  recognition  of  these 
services  the  Academy  voted  £50  to  be  employed  in  the 
purchase  of  a  piece  of  plate  to  be  presented  to  him.  By 
his  great  personal  influence  over  many  of  his  brother 
Academicians,  resulting  from  his  unceasing  attention  to 
the  interests  of  the  institution,  combined  with  great  diplo- 
matic tact,  and  many  other  effective  elements  of  social 
popularity,  he  possessed  a  degree  of  weight  in  the  councils 
of  the  Academy,  far  beyond  any  other  member — so  much 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  OPIE  195 

so  that  with  some  he  bore  the  appellation  of  "  Dictator 
of  the  Koyal  Academy."     He  died  in  1822. 

JOHN  OPIE'S  life  adds  another  chapter  to  those  which 
have  been  so  frequently  written,  exhibiting  the  career  of 
genius  first  manifested  in  the  humblest  walks  of  life,  and 
by  its  own  internal  strength  rising  to  prove  a  public  benefit 
to  mankind.  He  was  born  in  May,  1761,  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Agnes,  seven  miles  from  Truro,  where  his  father 
and  grandfather  were  reputable  master-carpenters.  The 
family  name  was  Oppy,  and  his  mother  was  descended 
from  the  ancient  and  respectable  family  of  Tonkin,  of 
Trevawnance  in  Cornwall.  Young  Opie  was  very  early 
remarkable  for  the  strength  of  his  understanding,  and  for 
the  rapidity  with  which  he  acquired  all  the  learning  which 
a  village  school  then  afforded.  At  ten  years  of  age  he 
had  made  some  progress  in  Euclid,  and  at  twelve  he 
set  up  an  evening  school  at  St.  Agnes,  where  he  taught 
arithmetic  and  writing  to  some  who  were  twice  his  own 
age.  He  was  bound  apprentice  to  his  father,  and  when 
assisting  him  in  the  repair  of  a  gentleman's  house  at 
Truro,  an  incident  occurred  which  proved  the  existence 
of  a  decided  talent  for  art.  In  the  parlour  hung  a  picture 
of  a  farm-yard  which  attracted  his  attention  so  strongly 
that  he  frequently  stole  into  the  room  to  gaze  at  it,  until 
chastised  by  his  father  for  doing  so.  On  his  return  home 
that  evening  he  procured  canvas  and  colours,  and  com- 
menced painting  a  resemblance  of  the  farm-yard,  and 
thus  from  memory  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  transmitted 
to  his  own  canvas  a  very  tolerable  copy  of  the  picture. 
His  desire  to  become  a  painter  was  now  confirmed ;  but 
his  father  still  treated  his  attempts  witli  great  severity, 
and  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  check  him  in  the 
pursuit  of  a  profession  which  lie  regarded  as  destructive 
of  his  future  prospects.  Encouraged  by  one  of  his  uncles, 
however,  in  a  little  time  he  had  hung  Iiis  father's  house  with 
portraits  of  his  family,  and  of  his  youthful  companions. 

o  2 


196  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VL 

At  this  period  in  his  career  he  attracted  the  notice  of 
Dr.  Wolcott,  then  residing  at  Truro  (and  subsequently 
famous  as  the  celebrated  Peter  Pindar),  who  having  him- 
self some  knowledge  of  painting,  a  shrewd  judgment, 
and  a  few  tolerable  pictures,  was  able  to  offer  various 
advantages  to  the  young  disciple  of  art.  By  his  recom- 
mendation he  was  enabled  to  find  employment  in  making 
tours  in  the  neighbouring  towns  as  a  professed  portrait 
painter ;  and  on  one  of  these  occasions,  after  a  long  absence, 
he  returned,  not  in  the  boy's  plain  short  jacket  with 
which  he  set  out,  but  dressed  in  a  handsome  coat,  with  very 
long  skirts,  laced  ruffles,  and  silk  stockings,  and  presented 
his  mother  with  twenty  guineas,  which  he  had  earned  by 
his  pencil,  informing  her.  that  henceforward  he  should 
maintain  himself.  When  he  subsequently  attained  emi- 
nence and  profitable  employment,  his  first  use  of  his 
increased  means  was  to  spread  comfort  around  this  beloved 
parent.  The  first  efforts  of  his  pencil,  though  void  of 
that  grace  which  can  only  be  derived  from  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  art,  were  true  to  nature,  and  in  a  style 
far  superior  to  anything  generally  produced  by  local 
country  artists.  He  painted  at  that  time  with  smaller 
pencils,  and  finished  more  highly  than  he  afterwards  did, 
when  his  hand  had  obtained  a  broader  and  more  masterly 
execution ;  but  several  of  his  early  portraits  would  not 
have  disgraced  even  the  high  name  he  afterwards  attained. 

About  the  year  1777,  he  was  introduced  to  Lord 
Bateman,  who  gave  him  a  commission  to  paint  figures  of 
old  men,  beggars,  &c.,  whose  portraits  he  sketched  with 
characteristic  force  and  vigour.  In  his  twenty-eighth 
year  he  was  brought  to  London  by  his  patron,  Dr.  Wolcott, 
and  by  the  aid  of  this  gentleman,  in  whose  house  he 
resided,  he  soon  became  the  rage  of  all  the  fashionable 
world,  and  was  everywhere  spoken  of  as  "  the  Cornish 
wonder."  Although  this  "  terrific  popularity  "  (as  he  after- 
wards called  it)  was  not  of  long  duration,  the  tide  of 
patronage  left  him  in  comfortable  circumstances.  Ac- 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  OPIE  197 

customed  in  childhood  to  prove  himself  superior  to  his 
companions,  the  desire  of  competition  never  left  him,  and 
when  he  came  to  the  metropolis  it  was  with  the  liveliest 
hopes  that  he  would  be  able  to  attain  to  eminence.  He 
had  the  good  sense  to  meet  flattery  with  caution,  and  even 
with  trembling,  and  he  viewed  the  unfeeling  caprices  of 
fashion  with  the  sensitiveness  of  genius,  but  with  the  un- 
conquerable force  of  sense  and  justice.  His  portraits 
were  the  faithful  expression  of  individual  character  in  a 
broad  masterly  style,  but  they  wanted  the  refinement  and 
delicacy  of  the  works  of  those  trained  in  schools.  He 
contributed  some  of  his  best  works  in  the  historical  style 
to  the  Shakspeare  Gallery  of  Boydell,  and  the  collections 
illustrating  the  Bible  and  English  history  formed  by 
Macklin  and  Bowyer. 

While  thus  actively  pursuing  his  art  in  London,  he 
sought  most  studiously  the  cultivation  of  his  own  mind, 
applied  himself  to  reading  the  best  authors,  and  "re- 
membered all  he  read ; "  sought  the  society  of  the  learned, 
and  was  ardent  in  every  research  which  could  give  vigour 
to  his  mind.  Thus  he  fitted  himself  for  the  literary  un- 
dertakings in  which  he  afterwards  engaged.  The  life 
of  Eeynolds,  in  Dr.  Wolcott's  edition  of  "  Pilkington's 
Dictionary  of  Painters,"  was  the  first  specimen  of  his 
ability  in  this  way.  A  letter  published  in  the  "  True 
Briton  "  newspaper  followed,  in  which  he  proposed  the 
formation  of  a  National  Gallery  of  Pictures,  and  which 
was  subsequently  reprinted  as  "An  Inquiry  into  the 
requisite  Cultivation  of  the  Arts  of  Design  in  England." 
His  lectures  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution  dis- 
played his  extensive  professional  knowledge,  set  forth  the 
principles  of  painting,  and  presented  an  accumulation  of 
maxims  founded  both  on  history  and  observation.  They 
were  listened  to  with  attention  in  a  fashionable  circle 
assembled  for  intellectual  entertainment,  but  they  were 
so  far  from  satisfying  their  author  that  he  declined  to 
continue  them. 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VI. 

In  the  Eoyal  Academy  he  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1786,  and  E.A.  in  the  following  year;  and  on  the  Pro- 
fessorship of  Painting  becoming  vacant  in  1799,  by  Barry's 
dismissal,  he  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  it,  but 
being  told  that  he  had  a  competitor  whose  learning  and 
talents  pre-eminently  fitted  him  for  that  office,  he  resigned 
his  pretensions  at  that  time,  but  renewed  his  claims  on 
Fuseli's  removal  to  the  appointment  of  Keeper,  and  was 
then  elected.  This  was  in  1805.  About  this  time  he  pro- 
posed a  plan  for  the  erection  of  a  huge  figure  of  Britannia, 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  as  a  monument  to  commemorate  the 
exploits  of  the  British  Navy.  He  commenced  his  series  of 
Lectures  on  Painting  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  February 
1807,  and  only  delivered  four  of  the  course — on  design, 
invention,  chiaro-scuro,  and  colouring  —  when  he  died 
somewhat  suddenly  at  the  house  he  had  occupied  for 
sixteen  years,  No.  8  Berners  Street,  Oxford  Street,  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1807,  and  was  buried  on  the  20th  of 
the  same  month  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  near 
the  grave  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds. 

Opie  was  twice  married,  first  soon  after  he  came  to 
London,  to  a  faithless  wife,  from  whom  he  was  afterwards 
divorced ;  and  secondly,  in  1798,  to  Amelia,  the  daughter 
of  Dr.  Alderson,  a  physician  at  Norwich,  who  was  both  an 
intellectual  companion  and  a  judicious  adviser  to  her  hus- 
band, possessed  alike  of  kindness  of  heart  and  gentleness 
of  disposition,  and  by  her  own  genius  added  lustre  to  the 
name  of  Opie,  becoming  one  of  the  most  popular  novelists 
of  the  day.  She  published  a  memoir  of  her  husband  after 
his  decease,  and  his  lectures  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  which 
though  they  displayed  none  of  the  brilliant  specimens  of 
erudition  and  imagination  which  characterised  those  of 
his  predecessor,  Fuseli,  appeared  to  be  unequalled  of  their 
kind ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  system  of  pro- 
fessional instruction  he  had  designed  in  these  lectures  was 
cut  short  by  the  progress  of  a  fatal  disease  which  termi- 
nated in  his  death  at  the  early  age  of  forty-six. 


CH.  VI.]  OPIE  — NORTHCOTE  199 

Portraiture  and  historical  painting  divided  the  attention 
of  Opie  after  his  arrival  in  London.  His  most  admired 
productions  in  the  latter  style  are  the  'Presentation  in  the 
Temple,'  '  Jephthah's  Vow,'  « The  Murder  of  James  I.  of 
Scotland,'  '  The  Death  of  David  Eizzio,'  '  Arthur  taken 
Prisoner,'  '  Hubert  and  Arthur,'  '  Belisarius,'  '  Juliet  in  the 
Garden,'  &c.  None  of  these  works  affect  ideal  beauty  or 
refined  poetical  composition,  but  they  are  stamped  by 
energy  of  style  and  a  perfect  purity  of  colour,  an  har- 
monious tone,  and  exact  effects  of  light  and  shade.  In 
his  portraits  their  truth  and  reality  abundantly  compen- 
sate for  the  absence  of  the  more  refined  characteristics 
of  elegance  and  taste. 

JAMES  NORTHCOTE,  E.A.,  who  lived  to  a  venerable  age, 
was  born  on  22nd  October,  1746,  at  Plymouth,  where  his 
father  was  a  watchmaker.  From  a  very  early  period  in 
life,  he  manifested  his  taste  for  art ;  and  so  enthusiastic 
was  he,  that  when  Reynolds  visited  Devonport  with  Dr. 
Johnson  in  17G2,  he  pressed  through  the  crowd  only  to 
touch  the  skirt  of  his  coat,  "  which  I  did,"  he  says,  "  with 
great  satisfaction  to  my  mind."  His  father,  however,  felt 
no  inclination  to  encourage  his  predilection  for  so  uncer- 
tain a  profession,  and  therefore  apprenticed  him  to  his  own 
trade.  It  was  not  till  after  his  articles  were  concluded,  and 
that  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-four,  that  lie  began 
earnestly  to  study  as  an  artist.  A  friend  of  his  father, 
Dr.  Zachary  Mudge,  introduced  him  in  1771  to  Sir 
Joshua,  who,  though  he  had  little  opinion  of  his  talent 
or  progress  at  that  time*  resolved  to  give  him  a  trial,  and 
for  five  years  he  was  a  resident  pupil  in  his  house,  enjoy- 
ing all  the  advantages  of  study  in  his  gallery.  During 
this  period  his  diligence  soon  compensated  for  the  defi- 
ciencies of  his  previous  training,  and  he  quickly  gained 
the  esteem  and  approval  of  his  preceptor. 

Soon  after  quitting  Reynolds's  studio,  he  commenced 
practice  on  his  own  account  as  a  portrait  painter,  and 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  VL 

endeavoured  to  imitate  the  colouring  and  style  of  Rey- 
nolds ;  but  being  ambitious  of  directing  his  attention  to 
the  higher  walk  of  historical  painting,  he  set  out  for  Italy 
in  1777,  where  he  spent  about  five  years,  and  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Academies  of  Florence  and  Cortona. 
Shortly  after  his  return  to  England,  an  opportunity  for 
exercising  his  skill  in  historical  composition  was  offered 
by  BoydelTs  Shakspeare  Gallery.  His  contributions  to 
this  laudable  undertaking  established  his  reputation,  and 
secured  him  a  high  rank  among  the  artists  of  his  day. 
Indeed,  among  the  many  splendid  productions  by  the 
British  artists  of  that  period  which  were  then  collected 
together,  none  were  more  justly  attractive  than  the  com- 
positions of  Northcote  which  he  painted  in  1786.  The 
scene  of  'The  Smothering  of  the  Princes  in  the  Tower;' 
'  The  Removal  of  their  Bodies  by  Torchlight  for  Interment 
at  the  Foot  of  the  stone  Steps ;'  his  large  picture  of '  Wat 
Tyler,'  for  the  city  of  London  ;  and  the  scene  between 
'  Hubert  and  Prince  Arthur,'  may  be  especially  noticed 
in  proof  of  this  statement,  and  as  displaying  the  successful 
imitation  of  the  colouring  of  Reynolds,  to  which  North- 
cote  had  attained.  These  works  were  followed  by  '  The 
Grecian  Girl ;'  '  The  Dominican  Friar ;'  '  The  Landing  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange ; '  '  Jacob  blessing  the  sons  of 
Joseph  ; '  '  The  Angels  appearing  to  the  Shepherds ; ' 
'  Romulus  and  Remus ; '  '  The  Death  of  the  Earl  of  Ar- 
gyll ;'  and  '  Prospero  and  Miranda.'  By  means  of  the  en- 
gravings made  from  them,  these  and  other  productions 
of  his  pencil  were  widely  known  in  Europe  ;  while  '  The 
Village  Doctress,'  and  similar  familiar  subjects,  were  seen 
framed  and  glazed  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  In- 
deed, to  the  unwearying  labour  of  Boydell  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  British  School  of  Engraving,  the  artists 
of  that  day  had  to  attribute  much  of  the  patronage  they 
received.  The  disastrous  result  to  Boydell  of  the  specu- 
lation in  the  Shakspeare  Gallery,  and  other  undertakings, 
seems  for  a  while  to  have  damped  the  ardour,  and  crip- 


On.  VI.]  JAMES  NORTIICOTE  201 

pled  the  energies  of  the  artists  whom  he  patronised ;  and 
thus  Northcote,  among  the  number,  failing  to  maintain 
his  position  as  a  historical  painter,  divided  his  labours 
between  these  compositions  and  fancy  subjects  and  por- 
traiture. Subsequently,  with  the  wish  to  rival  the  works 
of  Hogarth,  he  painted  a  series  of  ten  pictures  on 
moral  subjects,  illustrating  Virtue  and  Vice  in  the 
progress  of  two  young  women.  These  designs,  though 
they  bore  directly  on  the  subject  of  the  drama  they  were 
intended  to  represent,  were  wanting  in  that  life-like 
character  and  expression  which  Hogarth  gave  to  his 
composition  of  '  The  Marriage  a  la  Mode,'  and  similar 
works. 

Northcote  was  enthusiastic  in  the  pursuit  of  his  art, 
but  his  ability  and  genius  were  not  equal  to  his  applica- 
tion. He  took  delight  in  painting  wild  animals,  both 
beasts  and  birds ;  and  on  one  occasion,  whilst  making  a 
study  of  a  vulture  from  nature,  he  laid  down  his  palette, 
and  clasping  his  hands,  exclaimed,  "  I  lately  beheld  an 
eagle  painted  by  Titian,  and  if  Heaven  would  give  me 
the  power  to  achieve  such  a  work,  I  would  then  be  con- 
tent to  die."  Though  he  never  attained  the  eminence, 
as  a  painter,  nor  that  perfection  in  the  arts,  which  he 
coveted,  he  found  in  his  artistic  pursuits  sufficient  to 
satisfy  his  mind,  and  to  preserve  him  in  undisturbed  tran- 
quillity during  a  long  life.  From  a  studious  desire  not 
to  incur  debts,  he  lived  economically  and  in  retirement, 
occasionally  enjoying  the  society  of  his  brother  artists,  to 
one  of  whom,  when  confined  by  sickness,  he  one  day 
observed,  "  If  Providence  were  to  leave  me  the  liberty  of 
choosing  my  heaven,  I  should  be  content  to  occupy  my 
little  painting-room,  with  a  continuance  of  the  happiness 
I  have  experienced  there,  even  for  ever." 

The  conversational  powers  of  Northcote  were  regarded 
as  of  a  high  order,  arid  were  distinguished  by  an  acute- 
ness  and  perception  which  arc  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  delight  with  which,  as  a  boy,  he  listened  to 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

the  colloquies  of  Dr.  Mudge,  and  other  intellectual  men, 
who  were  visitors  at  his  father's  house.  Many  persons 
paid  him  visits  for  the  sake  of  listening  to  his  criticism  on 
art  and  artists  ;  and  though  much  of  his  time  was  thus 
passed,  he  never  allowed  it  to  interfere  with  his  painting, 
which  he  pursued  uninterruptedly,  whoever  might  be 
present  at  the  time.  Severe  and  satirical  in  his  censure, 
few  men  escaped  condemnation  in  some  point,  yet  some 
favoured  individuals  maybe  mentioned, — Opie  he  always 
spared ;  and  so  great  was  his  veneration  for  his  preceptor 
Eeynolds,  that  he  would  never  allow  any  one  to  utter 
aught  to  the  disparagement  of  his  memory,  but  himself. 
Hazlitt's  conversations  with  him  afford  a  good  portraiture 
of  his  character,  and  of  the  qualities  of  his  mind.  The 
literary  productions  of  Northcote  are  far  from  inconsider- 
able. Many  papers  by  him  appeared  in  a  work  entitled 
"  The  Artist ;"  and  in  1813  he  published  his  memoirs  of 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  with  an  analysis  of  his  discourses,  in  a 
quarto  volume,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  a  supplement. 
In  1828,  at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-two,  he  brought 
out  his  "  One  hundred  fables,  original  and  selected  ; "  and 
two  years  later  his  life  of  Titian,  a  work  which  contains 
much  information  on  art  generally,  but  which  is  known 
to  have  been  written  by  Hazlitt,  from  the  materials  fur- 
nished by  Northcote.  Neither  did  he  lay  aside  his  pencil 
till  within  a  day  or  two  of  his  death,  which  took  place 
on  the  13th  July,  1831,  in  the  86th  year  of  his  age. 

On  his  first  arrival  in  London  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  1786  he  was  elected  an  Associate, 
and  in  the  following  year  a  Eoyal  Academician.  For 
many  years  his  works  held  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
exhibitions  at  Somerset  House,  where  they  always  at- 
tracted attention  from  the  clear  way  in  which  he  told 
the  story  he  represented.  There  was  a  certain  dignity 
and  grace  in  all  his  pictures,  which  were  unfortunately 
counterbalanced  by  defective  drawing,  want  of  pictorial 
conception,  and  dulness  of  colouring.  Nevertheless,  he 


CH.  VI.]  WILLIAM  HODGES  203 

amassed  a  large  fortune  by  his  profession,  and  his  habits, 
like  those  of  Nollekens,  were  too  penurious  to  dissipate 
it.  He  was  never  married,  but  lived  with  a  maiden  sister, 
to  whom  he  bequeathed  a  large  property.  For  nearly 
fifty  years  he  occupied  the  house  in  which  he  died, — No. 
39  Argyle  Street,  Eegent's  Street.  He  was  buried  in  St. 
Marylebone  New  Church. 

WILLIAM  HODGES,  E.A.,  was  born  in  London  in  1744. 
His  father  was  a  blacksmith  who  worked  at  a  forge  he 
kept  in  St.  James's  Market.  When  quite  a  boy  he  attended 
Shipley's  drawing  school,  in  the  Strand,  and  subsequently 
became  a  pupil  of  Wilson,  the  landscape  painter.  In 
these  early  days  he  painted  decorations  for  theatres,  and 
architectural  views.  In  1772  he  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment of  draughtsman  in  the  second  voyage  to  the  South 
Seas,  undertaken  by  Captain  Cook,  and  his  drawings  v^ 
were  published  with  the  narrative  of  the  expedition.A 
After  an  absence  of  three  years  he  returned  to  England, 
and  painted  some  pictures  for  the  Admiralty  of  scenes  at 
Otaheite  and  Ulietea  in  the  Pacific.  He  afterwards  went 
to  India,  under  the  patronage  of  Warren  Hastings,  where 
he  realised  a  considerable  fortune. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1786,  and  a  Eoyal  Aca- 
demician in  1787.  He  painted  two  pictures  forBoydell's 
Shakspeare  Gallery, — '  The  Forest  of  Arden,  with  the 
wounded  Stag  ; '  and  '  The  Grove  Scene  from  Portia's 
House.'  In  1790  he  made  a  tour  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  and  in  1793  exhibited  a  view  of  St.  Petersburg 
at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  His  style  was  an  imitation  of 
that  of  Wilson  ;  and  one  of  his  best  works  is  a  view  of 
Windsor  from  the  Great  Park.  In  his  later  years  he  ex- 
hibited several  of  his  foreign  views — two  of  these,  repre- 
senting a  seaport  in  time  of  peace  and  the  same  place 
devastated  by  fire  and  sword,  are  now  in  the  Soane 
Museum.  Many  of  his  works  were  engraved,  and  he 
published  a  series  of  aquatinta  plates  of  his  views  in 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VI. 

India,  and  an  illustrated  account  of  his  travels,  dedicated 
to  the  East  India  Company.  Unfortunately,  he  was  in- 
duced in  1795  to  invest  his  Indian  fortune  in  establishing 
a  Bank  at  Dartmouth,  in  Devonshire,  which  failed  two 
years  afterwards.  The  shock  caused  his  death  on  the 
6th  March,  1797,  and  his  third  wife  died  a  few  months 
afterwards. 

JOHN  EUSSELL,  E.  A.,  was  born  at  Kingsten-en-Thames  in 
174^.  He  studied  crayon  drawing  under  Francis  Cotes, 
whose  skill  in  that  branch  of  art  has  never  been  excelled. 
In  1770  he  became  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and 
continued  to  paint  crayon  portraits  in  the  manner  of  his 
preceptor,  which  were  greatly  admired,  although  they 
were  more  gaudily  coloured  than  those  of  Cotes.  He 
published  a  treatise  on  the  "  Elements  of  Painting  in  Cray- 
ons," which  was  so  far  popular  at  the  time  as  to  pass 
through  two  editions.  Besides  painting,  he  seems  also  to 
have  had  a  taste  for  astronomy,  having  made  a  model, 
showing  the  appearance  of  the  moon,  called  the  Senelo- 
graphia,  and  published  a  description  of  it  with  plates 
engraved  by  himself.  He  also  invented  a  peculiar  mode 
of  preparing  his  own  crayons,  &c.,  which  was  afterwards 
continued  by  his  son.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1772,  and  an  E.A.  in  1788.  He  lived  in  Newman  Street, 
Oxford  Street ;  but  died  in  lodgings  he  had  taken  at  Hull, 
on  the  21st  April,  1806.  He  held  the  appointment  of 
portrait  painter  in  crayons  to  the  King  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales. 

WILLIAM  HAMILTON,  E.A.,  was  descended  from  a  Scottish 
family,  but  was  born  in  London  in  1751,  his  father  being 
then  resident  at  Chelsea,  and  an  assistant  to  Eobert  Adam, 
the  architect.  In  his  youth  he  went  to  Italy  as  a  pupil 
of  A.  Zucchi,  and  after  spending  some  years  in  Eome, 
returned  to  England  to  pursue  the  profession  of  a  portrait 
and  historical  painter.  His  gentle  and  amiable  manners 


CH.  VI.]  WILLIAM   HAMILTON  205 

gained  him  many  patrons  ;  and  the  charm  of  his  colour- 
ing, the  soft  delicacy  of  his  style,  and  a  refinement  ap- 
proaching even  to  extravagance,  caused  his  portrait  pic- 
tures to  be  very  popular.  As  a  historical  painter  he 
was  extensively  employed  to  take  part  in  the  schemes  of 
Boydell,  Macklin,  and  Bowyer,  to  illustrate  the  Bible, 
the  Poets,  English  History,  and  Shakspeare,  and  most  of 
his  works  of  this  kind  displayed  great  readiness  and  faci- 
lity of  invention.  They  were  engraved  by  Bartolozzi, 
and  others.  He  was  also  frequently  engaged  in  designing 
vignettes  for  book-illustrations  ;  and  his  small  coloured 
drawings  were  so  fresh,  so  full  of  colour,  and  finished 
with  so  much  taste,  that  they  were  deservedly  admired. 
Lord  Fitzgibbon  gave  him  600  guineas  for  his  designs  on 
the  panels  of  his  state-coach ;  and  he  executed  some  beau- 
tiful arabesque  ornaments  for  the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of 
Bute,  in  Hampshire.  He  found  abundant  and  lucrative 
employment  for  his  varied  talents.  His  best  historical 
pictures  are  '  The  Woman  of  Samaria,'  and  '  The  Queen 
of  Sheba's  Visit  to  Solomon,' — the  latter  a  design  for  a 
window  in  Arundel  Castle ;  and  in  portraiture,  '  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons,  in  the  character  of  Lady  Eandolph.'  He  became  a 
student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1769,  an  Associate  in 
1784,  and  was  elected  E.A.  in  1789.  He  died  somewhat 
suddenly,  in  the  prime  of  life,  on  2nd  December,  1801.  He 
attended  the  Royal  Academy  as  one  of  the  visitors  on  the 
26th  of  November,  but  on  his  return  home  to  Dean 
Street,  Soho,  in  the  evening,  he  was  seized  with  the  fever 
of  which  he  speedily  died.  His  remains  were  interred  in 
St.  Ann's  churchyard,  Soho,  and  were  followed  to  the 
grave  by  many  of  his  brethren  in  the  Royal  Academy, 
where  he  was  much  beloved.  His  talents  had  made  him  a 
great  favourite  with  the  public,  and  his  virtues  caused  his 
friends  greatly  to  lament  his  deatli  in  the  prime  of  life. 

HENRY  FUSELI,  R.A.,  unlike  the  majority  of  the  artists 
we  have  mentioned,  belonged  to  a  family  of  painters.     He 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

was  the  second  son  of  John  Jasper  Fiieseli  (a  portrait 
and  landscape  painter,  and  the  author  of  "  The  Lives  of 
the  Helvetic  Painters "),  and  was  the  godchild  of  the 
celebrated  Gessner.  He  was  born  at  Zurich  on  the  7th 
of  February,  1741,  and  though  several  members  of  his 
family  were  artists,  his  father  discouraged  to  the  utter- 
most his  son's  predilections  for  the  same  profession.  Yet 
the  attempt  was  made  in  vain.  When  a  boy  he  bought 
with  his  small  .allowance  of  pocket  money,  candles, 
pencils,  and  paper,  to  enable  him  to  draw  when  his 
parents  believed  him  to  be  in  bed ;  and  the  produce  of 
these  studies  when  sold  to  his  companions,  enabled  him 
to  purchase  fresh  supplies  of  materials  for  carrying  on 
his  work.  Being  destined  for  the  clerical  profession,  he 
received  a  classical  education  at  the  Collegium  Carolinum 
at  Zurich,  and  while  there  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Lavater,  and  other  persons  afterwards  distinguished  in 
the  world  of  letters.  He  took  the  degree  of  M.A.,  and 
entered  holy  orders  in  1761 ;  but  though,  it  is  said,  he 
excited  considerable  attention  as  a  preacher,  it  is  evident 
his  inclinations  were  not  suited  to  his  holy  calling. 
Having  in  conjunction  with  Lavater,  written  a  pamphlet 
exposing  the  unjust  conduct  of.  one  of  the  magistrates  of 
Zurich,  he  excited  the  enmity  of  a  powerful  family,  and 
his  friends  advised  him  to  leave  the  city.  He  accord- 
ingly travelled  about  Europe  till  1765,  when  Sir  A. 
Mitchell,  the  English  Minister  at  Berlin,  invited  him  to 
accompany  him  to  England  to  assist  in  a  literary  com- 
munication proposed  to  be  opened  between  Germany  and 
this  country.  He  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Millar 
and  Mr.  Johnson,  two  eminent  publishers,  and  for  three 
years  he  seems  to  have  depended  for  support  principally 
upon  the  produce  of  translations  for  the  booksellers,  from 
the  German,  French,  and  Italian  languages  into  English, 
and  from  English  into  German. 

In  1766,  after  an  unfortunate  attempt  to  obtain  lordly 
patronage  as  travelling  tutor  to  Lord  Chewton,  the  son 


CH.  VI.]  HENRY  FUSELI  207 

of  Earl  Waldegrave,  he  determined  to  return  to  England 
to  devote  himself  to  the  arts,  and  having  been  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  an  introduction  to  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
he  was  greatly  encouraged  by  the  kind  opinion  he  ex- 
pressed of  the  drawings  he  submitted  for  his  inspection. 
"  Were  I  the  author  of  these  drawings,  and  were  offered 
ten  thousand  a-year  not  to  practise  as  an  artist,  I  would 
reject  the  proposal  with  contempt,"  were  Eeynolds's  words. 
For  two  years  Fuseli  devoted  his  attention  exclusively  to 
the  arts — still  continuing,  however,  to  gain  the  friend- 
ship of  men  eminent  in  the  literary  world,  with  which 
his  early  labours  as  an  author  had  connected  him.  In 
1770  he  set  out  on  a  visit  to  Italy,  and  was  absent  from 
England  nine  years.  In  this  long  interval,  his  biographer, 
Mi\  Knowles,  says  that  "  although  he  paid  minute  atten- 
tion to  the  works  of  Eaphael,  Correggio,  Titian,  and  the 
other  great  men  whom  Italy  has  produced,  yet  he  con- 
sidered the  antique  and  Michael  Angelo  as  his  masters, 
and  formed  his  style  upon  their  principles,"  endeavouring 
to  infuse  some  of  their  power  and  spirit  into  his  own 
productions.  After  his  return  to  England,  he  exhibited 
several  pictures  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  one  of  which, 
'  The  Nightmare,'  in  1782,  excited  considerable  surprise 
by  its  bold  nervous  treatment.  Literary  pursuits  were  still 
mingled  with  his  artistic  labours,  and  about  this  time  he 
assisted  Cowper  in  his  translation  of  Homer,  edited  the 
English  version  of  Lavater's  works  on  "  Physiognomy," 
and  contributed  frequently  to  the  "  Analytical  Eeview." 

Fuseli  was  one  of  the  artists  employed  on  Boydell's 
Shakspeare.  lie  painted  eight  pictures  for  this  series — 
the  most  notable  being  "  The  Witches  '  in  Macbeth,  and 
4  The  Ghost  appearing  to  Hamlet.'  He  also  contributed 
to  the  Mackhn  and  Woodmason  Galleries,  commenced 
in  imitation  of  Boydell's  plan  ;  and  all  these  works  are 
known  by  the  engravings  made  from  them.  In  1788  he 
removed  from  No.  100  St.  Martin's  Lane,  took  a  house 
in  Queen  Anue  Street  East,  and  married  Miss  Sophia 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

Eawlins  of  Bath-Eaton,  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected 
an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In  1790  he  was 
elected  a  Eoyal  Academican,  at  the  time  when  Bonomi 
was  also  a  candidate ;  and  although  Eeynolds  supported 
the  latter,  and  felt  much  annoyed  at  his  failure,  he  did 
not  exhibit  any  ill-feeling  towards  his  opponent  Fuseli, 
to  whom  the  President's  kindness  remained  unaltered 
to  the  last.  At  this  time  Fuseli  projected  his  "  Milton 
Gallery,"  and  in  the  next  nine  years  painted  forty  pictures 
in  illustration  of  the  poet's  works.  In  May  1799  his 
Gallery  was  opened  to  the  public,  but  unfortunately  the 
speculation  proved  ruinously  unproductive ;  for  at  the 
close  of  the  exhibition,  the  money  taken  was  not  suffi- 
cent  to  pay  the  rent  of  the  premises,  and  the  other 
expenses  attending  it :  in  the  following  year  the  Gallery 
was  re-opened  with  seven  additional  pictures ;  but  not- 
withstanding the  countenance  and  support  which  it  met 
with  from  the  Eoyal  Academicians1,  and  other  influential 
friends,  and  the  fame  obtained  by  the  artist,  the  result 
was  equally  unsuccessful  with  the  first.  This  may  per- 
haps be  attributed  to  the  circumstance,  that  Fuseli's 
works,  wonderful  as  they  undoubtedly  were  for  inven- 
tion, were  not  such  as  generally  to  meet  with  popular 
favour.  His  earliest  examples  had  been  the  drawings  of 
the  German  artists  of  his  native  place,  and  their  man- 
nerism more  or  less  displayed  itself  in  all  his  works. 
He  possessed  a  wild  and  unbounded  imagination,  and 
his  productions  partook  of  that  mysticism  and  exaggera- 
tion which  he  had  imbibed  from  his  German  origin  and 
education ;  hence,  the  excellences  of  his  style,  and  the 
real  genius  he  displayed,  were  lost  upon  ah1  but  those  who 
had  a  taste  for  the  highest  specimens  of  art,  and  his  lofty 
imaginings  were  set  down  by  all  others  as  extravagance. 
On  the  removal  of  Barry  from  the  office  of  Professor 


1  The  members  of  the  Royal  Aca-  brate  its  opening,  paying  for  the  cost 
demy  gave  a  dinner  in  honour  of  of  the  entertainment  among  them- 
Fuseli,  at  the  Milton  Gallery,  to  cele-  selves. 


CH.  VI.]  HENRY   FUSELI  209 

of  Painting,  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  1799,  Fuseli  was 
appointed  to  it  without  opposition, — Opie,  the  only  other 
candidate,  having  withdrawn.  His  first  lectures  were 
delivered  in  1801  ;  they  were  well  attended,  and  in 
their  delivery  he  was  frequently  interrupted  by  applause. 
They  were  published  in  the  same  year,  and  have  since 
been  translated  into  German,  French,  and  Italian. 
Though  not  to  be  compared  to  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds's 
discourses  for  general  information,  or  the  exhibition  of 
the  principles  to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  of  art, 
Fuseli's  lectures,  nevertheless,  contain  some  of  the  best 
fine-art  criticism  in  our  language ;  and  the  earnestness  of 
his  manner,  combined  with  the  eloquence  with  which  he 
was  gifted,  rendered  his  addresses  highly  popular  among 
the  students.  He  vacated  the  office  of  Professor  of 
Painting  in  1804,  when  he  was  elected  Keeper  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  ;  but  in  1806,  as  Opie,  his  successor,  had 
not  then  prepared  his  course,  he  again  delivered  his 
series  of  lectures.  In  the  following  year,  as  we  have 
seen,  Opie  died  somewhat  suddenly,  after  having  given 
only  four  lectures  ;  Mr.  Tresham,  his  successor,  resigned 
in  1809,  on  the  plea  of  ill-health ;  and  the  Aca- 
demicians then  generally  expressed  their  wish  for  the 
re-election  of  Fuseli.  This,  however,  was  contrary  to 
one  of  their  bye-laws ;  and  it  affords  a  proof  of  the 
high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  that  they  waived 
this  objection  in  consideration  of  his  eminent  talents. 
In  the  next  year,  therefore,  he  resumed  his  lectures,  then 
enriched  with  many  observations  made  during  a  recent 
visit  to  France  to  see  the  collection  of  pictures  from  all 
parts  of  the  Continent,  gathered  together  in  Paris  by 
Napoleon. 

In  1810  also,  Fuseli  published  a  new  edition  of  Pil- 
kington's  "  Dictionary  of  Painters,"  having  inserted  in  it 
some  300  additional  notices  of  artists.  Among  his  other 
literary  works,  which  have  not  already  been  mentioned, 
was  a  translation  into  German  of  Lady  Montagu's 

VOL.  i.  p 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

"Letters,"  and   of  Winckelmann's   work    on    "Ancient 
Painting  and  Sculpture  in  England,"  into  English.     In 
1818,  when  in   his   78th  year,  Mr.    Knowles,  his  exe- 
cutor  and  biographer,   collected   under    his    inspection 
the  "  Aphorisms  on  Art,"  subsequently  printed ;  and  in 
1820  Fuseli  published  another  edition  of   his  lectures, 
adding  three  others,  and  an  introduction  entitled,  "  A 
Characteristic  Sketch  of  the  Principal  Technic  Instruc- 
tion, Ancient  and  Modern,  which  we  possess."     Six  ad- 
ditional lectures  from  MS.  were  published  subsequently 
to  his  death.     Though  Fuseli  was  a  foreigner,  and  had 
made  England  but  the  country  of  his  adoption,  his  know- 
ledge of  our  language  was  perfect ;  he  could  never,  how- 
ever, overcome  the  difficulty  of  pronunciation,  and  for 
this  reason  changed  his  family  name  of  Fiiessli,  first  to 
Fusseli,  and  afterwards  to  Fuseli,  in  order  to  suit  the 
Italian  sound  of  it. 

Having  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  survived  all  his 
early  and  intimate  friends,  Fuseli  died  in  his  88th  year, 
but  in   the  full  vigour  of   his  mental   faculties,  in  the 
house  of  his  stedfast  friend,  the  Countess  of  Guildford,  at 
Putney  Heath,  on  the  16th  of  April,  1825, — having  re- 
ceived from  that  lady  and  her  daughters  all  the  attention 
it  was  possible  for  them  to  bestow  upon  him,  in  order  to 
soothe  the  severity  of  his  last   sufferings.     Although  a 
man   of    sarcastic   and   violent   temper,   he   had   many 
admiring  friends :  among  them,  Cowper,  the  poet ;  Coutts, 
the  banker ;  the  famous  Mary  Woolstoncroft ;   and  he  re- 
tained to  the  end  of  his  life  the  regard  of  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence.     He  was  buried  on  the  25th  of  April,  1825, 
in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  between  the  remains  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  and  those  of  Opie,  and  was  attended  to  the 
grave  by  the  President  and  most  of  the  members  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  besides  his  private  circle  of  acquaintance. 
After  his  death,  his  drawings,  804  in  number,  were  sold 
by  Mrs.  Fuseli  to  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  who  gave  her  a 
bond,  bearing  interest  at  £200  a-year;  outstanding  at  the 


CH.  VI]  HENRY  FUSELI  211 

time  of  his  decease.  The  drawings  were  returned  by  his 
executor,  and  the  bond  cancelled.  Subsequently  they 
were  sold  to  the  Dowager  Countess  Guildford. 

Fuseli's  genius  was  of  a  high  order.  An  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  learned  languages  had  early 
enabled  him  to  fill  his  mind  from  the  rich  storehouses  of 
ancient  poetry,  and  the  energy  of  his  imagination  dis- 
played itself  in  all  his  works.  His  style  as  a  painter, 
undisciplined  by  all  the  restraints  of  an  early  artistic 
education,  had  a  degree  of  wildness  which,  in  dreamy  or 
terrible  subjects,  was  often  grand  and  impressive,  although 
in  its  character  almost  amounting  to  extravagance.  He 
seems  to  have  been  conscious  of  this,  for  he  is  said  to 
have  observed,  "  If  you  would  have  a  picture  of  Nature 
as  she  is,  you  must  go  to  Opie ;  if  one  as  she  has  been, 
go  to  Northcote ;  but  if  you  wish  to  possess  representa- 
tions which  never  have  been  nor  ever  will  be,  come  to 
me."  Sometimes  his  designs  were  marred  by  exaggerated 
proportions,  and  convulsive  muscular  action ;  but  in 
regard  to  invention  and  composition,  they  generally  merit 
unmixed  praise ;  and  although  his  colouring  was  often 
deficient,  and  even  repulsive,  from  its  sickly  yeUow  tinge, 
by  some  it  has  been  admired  for  that  solemn  tone  which 
is  found  in  the  works  of  the  greatest  fresco  painters. 

As  a  teacher  of  the  fine  arts,  whether  Fuscli  be  con- 
sidered in  his  capacity  of  Professor  of  Painting  or  in  that 
of  Keeper  of  the  Schools  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  he  was 
eminently  skilful ;  he  possessed  an  extensive  knowledge 
of  the  works  of  the  ancient  and  modern  masters,  a  sound 
judgment,  and  an  accurate  eye.  To  the  students  he  was 
a  sure  guide,  ever  ready  to  assist  by  his  instruction 
modest  merit,  and  to  repress  presumption.  That  the 
English  School  of  Design  reaped  great  advantages  from 
his  appointment  as  Keeper  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  is 
evident,  when  we  refer  to  those  who  were  his  pupils, 
among  whom  were  Hilton,  Etty,  Wilkie,  Leslie,  and 
Mulready.  His  warmth  of  temper  sometimes  brought 

r  2 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VL 

him  into  direct  opposition  to  his  colleagues;  and  on  these 
occasions  he  was  wont  to  boast  that  he  could  "  speak 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  English,  German,  Danish,  Dutch 
and  Spanish,  and  so  let  his  folly  or  his  fury  get  vent 
through  eight  different  avenues."  His  sarcastic  sayings 
live  in  the  memories  of  numerous  artists  who  felt  their 
force ;  while  his  own  peculiarities  of  style,  in  design  and 
colouring,  led  the  wits  of  his  time  to  confer  on  him  the 
title  of  "  Principal  Hobgoblin-painter  to  the  Devil."  Still, 
if  his  pictures  were  not  popular,  it  was  because  they 
lacked  the  prettinesses  of  painting,  and  not  that  they 
wanted  'the  poetical  treatment  or  originality  of  conception 
which  characterise  the  productions  of  the  real  genius 
in  art. 

JOHN  WEBBEE,  E.A.,  was  born  in  London  in  1752. 
His  father  was  a  sculptor  (David  Garrick's  monument  in 
Westminster  Abbey  is  his  work),  a  native  of  Berne,  in 
Switzerland,  and  he  sent  his  son  to  Paris,  when  he  was 
still  young,  to  receive  instruction  as  an  artist.  On  his 
return  to  London,  in  1775,  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  not  long  afterwards  was  ap- 
pointed draughtsman  to  the  last  expedition  to  the 
South  Seas  undertaken  by  Captain  Cook,  with  the  view 
of  making  drawings  of  whatever  was  remarkable  in  those 
hitherto  unknown  regions ;  and  when  the  vessels  arrived 
at  Kamtschatka,  he  acted  as  interpreter  also,  for  no  one 
else  on  board  could  speak  German.  He  returned  from 
this  voyage  in  1780,  and  was  employed  by  the  Admiralty 
to  superintend  the  engraving  of  the  prints  made  from  the 
sketches  he  had  taken  of  the  lands  they  had  explored 
and  the  scenes  they  had  witnessed.  Subsequently  he 
etched  and  aquatinted  a  series  of  views  of  the  principal 
places  he  had  visited  in  China,  Eussia,  &c.,  which  were 
afterwards  coloured,  and  were  deservedly  popular.  He 
was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1785, 
and  E.A.  in  1791.  He  confined  himself  to  landscape 


CH.  VI.]  FRANCIS  WHEATLEY  213 

painting,  drawing  with  great  accuracy  both  scenes  and 
figures,  and  carefully  finishing  every  minute  object  in  his 
pictures,  which  were  always  pleasing  in  effect,  but  some- 
times too  highly  coloured.  He  died  before  he  had  com- 
pleted the  publication  of  his  series  of  foreign  views,  at 
his  lodgings  in  Oxford  Street,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1793. 

FRANCIS  WHEATLEY,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  a  tailor,  and 
was  born  in  London  in  1747.  His  first  instruction  in  art 
was  received  at  Shipley's  drawing  school,  and  while  still 
young  he  obtained  several  of  the  premiums  awarded 
by  the  Society  of  Arts.  In  his  earlier  productions  he 
followed  the  manner  of  Hayman  and  Gravelot;  but 
having  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  Mortimer,  he 
copied  several  of  his  paintings  and  drawings,  and  thus 
fell  into  his  style.  He  assisted  him  in  decorating  the 
ceilings  of  Lord  Melbourne's  fine  seat  at  Brocket  Hall,  in 
Herts,  and  in  the  early  part  of  his  career  he  was  employed 
on  the  decorations  for  Vauxhall.  He  excelled  in  rural 
pieces  with  figures,  and  in  landscapes,  which  he  painted 
both  in  oil  and  water-colours ;  but  he  also  found  con- 
siderable employment  in  the  early  part  of  his  life  in 
painting  small  whole-length  portraits.  Edwards  represents 
him  to  have  led  a  very  irregular  life,  and  says  that  "  he 
left  London  for  Dublin,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Gresse, 
with  whom  he  had  the  folly  to  engage  in  an  intrigue,  for 
which  he  was  prosecuted,  and  cast  in  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench."  During  his  residence  in  Dublin  he  met  with 
great  encouragement  from  persons  of  taste  and  fashion, 
and  gained  some  reputation  by  his  picture  of  the  '  Irish 
House  of  Commons,'  with  portraits  of  all  the  members, 
at  the  moment  when  Grattan  was  making  his  motion  for 
the  repeal  of  Poyning's  Act.  This  picture  was  afterwards 
disposed  of  by  raffle  in  Dublin.  On  his  return  to  London 
he  pursued  a  new  style,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  the 
French  painter  Greuze,  who  was  then  a  favourite,  in 
which  he  painted  popular  rural  and  domestic  subjects. 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [Cir.  VI. 

'  The  Eiots  of  1780  '  afforded  him  another  subject  for  his 
pencil,  and  this  picture  was  one  of  his  best  works.  It 
was  unfortunately  burnt  in  the  house  of  James  Heath,  the 
engraver,  in  Lisle  Street,  Leicester  Fields,  who  had  made 
a  print  from  it  for  Mr.  Alderman  Boydell,  who  gave 
Wheatley  £200  for  the  use  of  it.  He  also  employed  him 
to  paint  twelve  pictures  for  his  Shakspeare  Gallery,  chiefly 
illustrating  the  scenes  in  the  comedies ;  and  in  these 
works,  and  his  pictures  for  Bowyer's  Historical  Gallery, 
his  merits,  both  in  composition  and  as  a  colourist,  are 
fairly  displayed.  He  was  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  1769,  an  Associate  in  1790,  and  E.A.  in  1791.  In  his 
later  years  he  was  a  martyr  to  the  gout,  and  died  from 
that  disease  on  the  28th  of  June,  1801. 

OZIAS  HUMPHREY,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Honiton,  in  Devon- 
shire, on  the  8th  September,  1742,  and  was  educated  at 
the  endowed  grammar  school  there,  under  the  Eev.  E. 
Lewis,  M.A.,  until  his  fourteenth  year.  At  his  own 
earnest  solicitation  his  parents  sent  him  to  London  to  be 
instructed  for  the  profession  of  an  artist ;  and  he  studied 
drawing  under  Mr.  Pars,  who  kept  a  school  for  design 
near  Beaufort  Buildings,  in  the  Strand.  Subsequently  he 
took  advantage  of  the  Duke  of  Eichmond's  munificent 
plan  of  making  public  to  students  the  plaster  casts  from 
the  antique  which  he  had  collected ;  and  after  three 
years  thus  spent,  he  returned  to  Devonshire,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  father's  death.  Shortly  afterwards  he 
sought  admission  to  the  studio  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds ; 
but  not  being  successful,  he  went  for  two  years  to  study 
with  Mr.  Samuel  Collins,  a  miniature-painter  of  high  re- 
pute in  Bath,  accompanied  him  when  he  removed  to 
Dublin,  and  succeeded  him  in  his  professional  employ- 
ment there.  In  1764  he  came  back  to  London,  having 
been  invited  by  Eeynolds  to  come  to  the  metropolis.  In 
1766  he  attracted  attention  by  a  miniature-portrait  he 
sent  to  the  Spring  Gardens  Exhibition  of  John  Maling 


CH.  VI.]  OZIAS  HUMPHREY  215 

(subsequently  the  well-known  model  of  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy), which  was  purchased  by  the  King,  who  presented 
him  with  one  hundred  guineas,  and  afterwards  showed 
his  appreciation  of  his  talents  by  giving  him  a  commis- 
sion to  paint  miniatures  of  the  Queen  and  other  members 
of  the  Eoyal  family.  This  was  the  commencement  of  a 
long  series  of  successful  works  in  miniature,  which  was 
interrupted  in  1772,  when  in  consequence  of  a  fah1  from 
his  horse, Mae  found  his  nervous  system  so  shaken  as  to 
unfit  him  for  such  delicate  execution.  He  therefore  re- 
solved to  turn  his  attention  to  oil-painting  on  a  large 
scale ;  and  in  1773,  accompanied  by  his  friend  Eomney, 
proceeded  to  Eome,  where,  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity, 
he  lived  four  years,  studying  the  principles  of  oil  paint- 
ing, which  were  tih1  that  time  almost  unknown  to  him. 
From  1777  to  1785  he  was  occupied  in  London,  painting 
generally  in  oil.  In  the  latter  year  he  embarked  for 
India;  and  on  his  arrival  at  Calcutta,  was  persuaded  to 
renew  his  first  practice  of  miniature  painting.  His  talents 
and  gentlemanly  bearing  procured  him  the  esteem  and 
friendship  of  Sir  W.  Jones  and  Warren  Hastings ;  and 
he  was  chosen  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Asiatic 
Society.  While  in  India  he  visited  the  courts  of  Moor- 
shedabad,  Benares,  and  Lucknow,  painting  portraits  of 
princes,  nabobs,  and  other  distinguished  persons.  Decay 
of  health  compelled  him  to  return  again  to  England  in 
1788,  after  he  had  realised  a  handsome  fortune  in  India. 
He  resumed  his  miniature  painting,  and  exhibited  many 
of  his  recent  works  in  the  exhibition  of  the  following 
year.  In  1779  he  had  been  elected  an  Associate  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy:  he  was  now  in  1791  elected  a  Eoyal 
Academician.  He  was  engaged  to  paint  a  cabinet  for  the 
Duke  of  Dorset,  with  likenesses  of  his  Grace's  ancestors, 
from  the  portraits  in  the  collection  at  Knole ;  but  when 
he  had  finished  nearly  fifty  portraits  in  a  fine  and  delicate 
style,  his  eyes  became  so  weakened  by  excessive  appli- 
cation as  to  compel  him  to  relinquish  the  labour.  Loving 


216  mSTOEY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

his  art,  however,  he  found  a  resource  in  crayons,  to 
which  line  of  painting  he  now  devoted  his  attention,  and 
was  eminently  successful.  Two  portraits,  of  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Orange,  in  this  style,  were  completed  in 
1797,  and  were  his  last  works,  as  his  sight  then  com- 
pletely failed  him.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days 
at  Knightsbridge,  and  died  on  the  9th  March,  1810. 
His  taste  and  genius,  his  assiduity  in  the  study  of  the 
best  models,  his  correctness  of  design,  and  rich  and  har- 
monious colouring,  combine  to  render  his  works  both 
valuable  and  attractive. 

THE  SCULPTORS  elected  as  Academicians  during  the 
presidency  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  have  next  to  be  no- 
ticed :  these  were,  Edward  Burch,  elected  in  1771, 
Joseph  Nollekens  in  1772,  John  Bacon  in  1778,  and 
Thomas  Banks  in  1785. 

EDWARD  BURCH,  E.A.,  was  the  first  Eoyal  Academician 
elected  by  the  members,  all  those  preceding  him  having 
been  nominated  by  the  King.  He  entered  as  a  student 
in  1769,  was  one  of  the  first  associates  in  1770,  and  an 
E. A.  in  1771.  He  was  most  eminent  as  a  gem-sculptor ; 
but  he  exhibited  occasionally  models  in  wax,  and  busts 
from  the  antique.  Among  modern  artists,  Burch  was  re- 
garded as  the  one  who  had  attained  the  nearest  to  the 
point  of  excellence  reached  by  the  Greek  and  Eoman 
engravers,  although  he  had  no  advantage  from  foreign 
study.  He  studied  with  great  assiduity,  sketched  all  his 
figures  anatomically  with  extreme  care,  finished  his  works 
with  a  truth  and  delicacy  which  left  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired, and  detailed  the  muscular  parts  of  every  figure  so 
as  to  express  the  emotion  by  which  they  were  set  in 
action.  A  large  number  of  his  works  were  arranged  to- 
gether in  the  famous  "  Tassie  Collection  of  Gems."  He 
exhibited  a  series  of  his  beautiful  sculpture  casts  from 
gems  and  other  similar  works  year  by  year  at  the  Eoyal 


CH.  VI.]  JOSEPH  NOLLEKENS  217 

Academy,  till  his  death  in  1814.  For  some  years  pre- 
viously he  held  the  appointment  of  Librarian  to  the 
Academy. 

JOSEPH  NOLLEKEXS,  E.A.,  has  had  his  life  written  at 
great  length  by  one  of  his  executors,  J.  T.  Smith,  the  late 
keeper  of  the  prints  at  the  British  Museum ;  but  from 
disappointment  at  not  sharing  in  his  fortune,  it  is  written 
in  an  unkindly  spirit,  although  we  can  learn  from  it  the 
main  facts  of  the  sculptor's  life.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
painter  ("  Old  Nollekens,"  as  he  was  termed  by  Walpole 
and  others),  a  native  of  Antwerp,  and  of  his  wife,  Mary 
Ann  Le  Sacque.  Joseph  was  born  in  Dean  Street,  Soho, 
on  the  llth  August,  1737,  and  baptized  at  the  Eoman 
Catholic  Chapel  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.  His  father  died 
on  the  21st  January,  1748,  when  he  was  very  young, 
and  his  mother  quickly  remarried,  and  went  to  reside 
with  her  second  husband  in  Wales ;  hence  Joseph's 
school  education  was  neglected,  and  he  early  set  to  work 
to  study  as  an  artist,  never  afterwards  attempting  to  make 
up  his  lack  of  book-learning.  After  a  short  time  spent 
in  Shipley's  drawing  school  in  the  Strand,  he  was  ap- 
prenticed, when  only  thirteen,  to  Scheemakers,  the 
sculptor,  whose  studio  was  in  Vine  Street,  Piccadilly. 
While  there  he  worked  patiently  and  perseveringly,  early 
and  late,  and  success  rewarded  his  exertions.  In  1759 
he  gained  the  Society  of  Arts'  premium  of  fifteen  guineas 
for  a  group  of  figures  in  clay ;  and  in  the  next  year 
thirty  guineas  for  a  bas-relief,  and  ten  guineas  more  for  a 
model  in  clay  of  a  dancing  faun. 

Anxious  to  escape  from  the  jealous  opposition  of  some 
of  his  fellow-students  at  Scheemakers',  and  also  to  im- 
prove himself  in  his  art,  he  went  in  1760  to  Borne,  and 
he  had  to  work  hard  while  there  to  obtain  a  maintenance. 
In  1761,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  have  awarded  to  him 
by  the  Society  of  Arts,  fifty  guineas  for  his  marble  group 
of '  Timoclea  before  Alexander.'  David  Garrick  met  him 


218  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cii.  VI. 

in  the  Vatican,  remembered  these  successful  prize-works, 
and  sat  to  him  for  his  bust,  giving  him  twelve  guineas 
for  it.  This  was  his  first  commission.  Another,  also 
obtained  at  Eome,  was  from  Sterne,  done  in  terra-cotta, 
and  so  admirable  a  likeness  that  it  greatly  increased 
Nollekens'  reputation.  An  equally  profitable  occupation 
he  found  in  Eome  was  the  purchase  of  antique  fragments, 
and  their  restoration  into  complete  statues.  These  and 
other  purchases  judiciously  made,  reimbursed  him  hand- 
somely when  resold :  some  of  the  terra-cottas  he  bought 
at  Eome  are  now  in  the  Townley  Collection  in  the 
British  Museum.  He  found  ready  patrons  for  these 
works  among  the  English  visitors  to  the  Italian  capital ;. 
and  among  them  were  the  Earls  of  Yarborough  and  Bes- 
borough,  and  Lord  Selsey.  For  Lord  Yarborough  he 
afterwards  executed  two  of  his  best  works, '  Mercury ' 
and  '  Venus  chiding  Cupid.' 

Ten  years  were  spent  in  Italy,  and  on  his  return  to 
London,  Nollekens  took  a  lease  of  the  house  in  Mortimer 
Street,  once  occupied  by  Newton,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy.  Here  he  formed  a  studio  for  himself, 
a  shop  for  assistants,  and  a  gallery  for  models,  and  his 
busts  of  Sterne  and  Grarrick  having  preceded  his  return, 
he  found  many  patrons  ready  to  employ  him.  His  simple 
unassuming  manners  and  quiet  looks  pleased  the  sitters 
who  came  to  him  for  busts,  as  much  as  the  excellent  like- 
nesses he  wrought,  and  employment  hence  became  abun- 
dant. He  had  presented  a  fine  cast  of  the  Torso  to  the 
Eoyal  Academy  on  his  return  from  Eome,  and  was  elected 
an  Associate  in  1771.  He  obtained  his  diploma  as  a 
Eoyal  Academician  in  the  following  year ;  the  King  ex- 
pressing his  satisfaction  at  his  election  when  he  signed  it, 
and  proving  his  estimation  of  his  skill  by  himself  sitting 
for  a  bust.  That  of  Dr.  Johnson  soon  followed,  and  has 
ever  since  been  admired,  the  Doctor  himself  admitting, 
"  It  is  very  like  me ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
sculptor  has  great  skill  in  his  art." 


CH.  VI  ]  JOSEPH  NOLLEKEXS  219 

By  this  time  Nollekens  had  amassed  some  £20,000  by 
frugal,  simple  habits,  hard  industry,  and  worldly  prudence. 
He  now  sought  a  partner  in  Mary  Welsh,  the  daughter  of 
a  magistrate, — a  tall,  light-haired  beauty,  with  a  small 
fortune,  whose  fine  figure  contrasted  with  his  short  and 
ill-shaped  frame.  They  lived  happily  together,  practising, 
by  mutual  consent,  the  extreme  of  frugality  in  their 
home-life.  The  only  difference  between  them  was  in 
their  religious  faith,  he  still  attending  the  Eoman  Catholic 
chapel,  while  his  wife  proceeded  to  the  parish  church. 
Nollekens  found  that  the  taste  of  his  day  was  not  for 
poetical  sculpture,  but  for  portraiture,  and  devoted  him- 
self chiefly  to  making  busts,  his  prices  for  which  rose  to 
150  guineas.  He  occasionally  laboured  on  works  of 
fancy,  however,  among  which  were  '  Cupid  and  Pysche,' 
'  Bacchus,'  '  Peetus  and  Arria,'  and  five  Venuses,  one  of 
which,  known  as  the '  Eockingham  Venus,'  representing  her 
anointing  her  hair,  was  regarded  by  him  as  his  best  work 
in  that  style.  Monumental  sculpture  also  fell  to  his 
share ;  and  when  the  Government  gave  a  commission  for 
a  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey  to  the  commanders 
who  fell  in  Rodney's  great  battle  on  the  12th  April,  1782 
(Captains  Manners,  Bayne,  and  Blair),  the  choice  of  the 
Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  (who  were  requested  to 
nominate  the  sculptor  to  execute  it)  fell  upon  Nollekens. 
Another  similar  work  was  the  monument  to  Mrs.  Howard 
of  Corby  Castle  —  a  design  of  great  beauty,  pathetic  in 
conception  and  elegant  and  tasteful  in  execution ;  for  this 
he  received  £2000.  The  statue  of  Pitt  (the  face  from  a 
mask  taken  after  death),  now  in  the  Senate  House  at 
Cambridge,  produced  him  3000  guineas. 

To  extreme  old  age  Nollekens  continued  actively  at 
-work  —  even  as  late  as  181 G,  when  he  was  nearly  eighty. 
His  wife  died  in  the  following  year ;  and  all  his  early 
friends  having  passed  away,  the  rich  old  man  was  now 
surrounded  by  those  who  desired  to  obtain  a  share  of  his 
fortune.  He  was  observed  to  be  more  liberal  than 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY          [Cn.  VI. 

formerly.  One  day,  when  weak  and  ill,  he  asked  his 
nurse,  "  Is  there  any  one  with  whom  I  am  acquainted 
that  would  be  the  better  of  a  little  money  —  any  person 
that  wants  a  little  money  to  do  them  good  ?  "  —  and  he 
sent  £10  to  each  of  the  persons  she  named.  He  was 
kind  to  his  servants,  increasing  his  annual  presents  to 
them  on  his  birthday,  sometimes  to  as  much  as  £20 
a-piece.  In  1819  he  visited  the  Eoyal  Academy  Exhi- 
bition for  the  last  time  in  a  sedan  chair,  accompanied  by 
Chantrey.  He  gave  those  who  helped  him  to  his  coach 
a  guinea  each,  took  off*  his  hat,  and  bade  farewell  to  the 
Academy,  and  gradually  declined  in  strength,  until  at 
length  he  passed  away  in  his  86th  year,  on  the  23rd 
of  April,  1823.  He  was  buried  in  Paddington  Old 
Churchyard,  and  a  tablet,  executed  by  Behnes,  is  erected 
in  the  chancel  of  the  church  to  his  memory. 

Great  anxiety  was  felt  to  learn  the  contents  of  his  will. 
When  it  was  opened  it  was  found  that  some  £6000  was 
distributed  among  his  humble  people  and  assistants ; 
£100  each  to  his  executors,  Sir  William  Beechey  and 
J.  T.  Smith  ;  and  the  remainder  of  his  vast  fortune,  of 
more  than  £200,000,  between  his  friends  Mr.  Francis 
Palmer,  and  Francis  Douce,  the  well-known  antiquary. 
An  oddity  of  manner  was  natural  to  him,  and  his  some- 
what uncouth  demeanour  and  freedom  of  speech  rather 
increased  than  detracted  from  his  popularity.  In  the 
course  of  his  practice  he  executed  100  busts  and  many 
duplicates ;  all  were  truthful  and  simple,  unaffected  and 
elegant  —  wanting,  perhaps,  in  those  of  men,  the  power  of 
expressing  vigour  of  thought,  and  in  those  of  women,  the 
softness  of  female  beauty  ;  but  he  will  be  remembered  by 
these  works  when  his  poetic  and  monumental  sculptures 
are  forgotten. 

JOHN  BACOJS",  E.A.,  was  born  at  Southampton  on  the  24th 
of  November,  1740.  His  father  carried  on  the  business 
of  a  cloth-worker,  and  after  a  short  school  education  his 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  BACON  221 

son  began  to  assist  him  in  his  trade.  In  1755  he  was 
apprenticed  to  Mr.  Crispe,  a  porcelain  manufacturer  in  Bow 
churchyard,  from  whom  he  learned  the  art  of  painting 
on  China,  and  also  of  modelling  little  ornamental  figures. 
It  would  seem  that  by  reverse  of  fortune  his  parents  were 
even  at  this  time  mainly  dependent  on  his  exertions. 
Many  sculptors  were  in  the  habit  of  sending  their  models 
to  this  pottery  to  be  burnt,  and  from  the  sight  of  them, 
Bacon's  ardent  mind  determined  his  future  occupation ; 
and  indeed  the  transition  from  modelling  to  sculpture  was 
in  itself  so  natural  that  he  had  only  to  imitate  the  objects 
he  admired  to  enter  upon  his  new  career.  To  him  has 
been  ascribed  the  discovery  of  the  art  of  making  statues 
in  artificial  stone ;  but  although  the  invention  was  pro- 
bably of  an  earlier  date,  he  is  unquestionably  entitled  to 
the  credit  of  having  facilitated  the  process  of  that  art,  and 
of  rendering  it  popular.  When  he  thought  he  had  made 
sufficient  progress  to  venture  on  a  display  of  his  works, 
without  relinquishing  his  means  of  maintenance,  he  sent 
one  of  them  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  as  a  competitor  for 
one  of  its  premiums ;  and  so  rapid  was  his  progress,  that 
he  gained  no  less  than  nine  premiums  from  that  Society 
in  the  next  few  years.  The  first,  in  1758,  was  for  a 
figure  of  '  Peace,'  and  several  of  his  early  productions, — 
1  Mars,'  '  Venus,'  '  Narcissus,'  &c. — are  still  in  possession 
of  the  Society. 

About  the  year  1768  he  began  to  work  in  marble, 
and  invented  an  instrument  now  in  general  use  for  trans- 
ferring the  form  of  the  model  to  the  marble  with  a  cor- 
rectness till  then  unknown,  thereby  rendering  the  execu- 
tion of  the  work  more  a  mechanical  operation,  and  leaving 
his  mind  at  liberty  for  the  practice  of  design.  In  17G9 
he  accepted  employment  in  Coade's  artificial  stone  works, 
at  Lambeth,  where  groups  and  statues,  keystones,  wreaths 
of  flowers,  and  other  ornamental  works,  were  modelled, 
moulded,  arid  burnt.  On  the  institution  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  he  enrolled  himself  as  a  student,  and  received 


222  HISTOEY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

in  1769,  from  the  hands  of  the  President,  the  first  gold 
medal  for  sculpture  awarded  by  the  Academy,  for  his 
bas-relief  of  '  Eneas  escaping  from  Troy.'  In  1770  he  was 
made  an  Associate,  and  in  1778  a  Eoyal  Academician. 

The  celebrity  he  attained  by  his  early  works  (and  espe- 
cially by  his  cast  of  a  statue  of  Mars,  exhibited  in  1771, 
of  which  he  subsequently  made  a  copy  in  marble  for 
Lord  Yarborough)  induced  Dr.  Markham,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  York,  to  give  him  a  commission  for  a  bust 
of  the  King,  for  the  hall  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  While 
modelling  this  bust,  his  Majesty  inquired  if  he  had  ever 
been  out  of  England,  and  on  receiving  a  reply  in  the 
negative,  said  he  was  glad  of  it,  for  he  would  be  the 
greater  ornament  to  his  country.  The  admirable  execu- 
tion of  this  bust  gained  him  the  Eoyal  patronage,  and 
shortly  afterwards  a  commission  to  execute  a  copy  of  it 
for  the  University  of  Gottingen,  a  third  for  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  a  fourth  for  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 

In  1773  he  married  Miss  Wade,  a  lady  to  whom  he 
had  been  long  attached,  and  removed  from  his  first  hum- 
ble studio  in  Wardour  Street  to  a  new  house  at  No.  17, 
Newman  Street.  His  wife  died  three  years  afterwards, 
having  given  birth  to  five  children.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Holland,  by  whom  he  also 
had  three  children. 

In  1777  he  was  engaged  to  execute  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  Dr.  Guy,  the  founder  of  Guy's  Hospital ;  another 
of  Mrs.  Withers,  for  Worcester,  and  some  marble  figures 
for  the  Duke  of  Richmond.  These  led  to  his  being  em- 
ployed by  the  City  of  London  to  execute  the  monument  to 
the  memory  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  for  Guildhall.  In 
1778  he  completed  the  beautiful  monument  to  the  memory 
of  Mrs.  Draper  (the  '  Eliza'  of  Sterne),  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Bristol.  From  this  time  his  occupation  was  incessant. 
He  was  employed  by  public  bodies  and  private  indivi- 
duals ;  and  so  numerous  are  his  works,  that  to  enumerate 
them  all,  or  to  specify  the  precise  order  in  which  they 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  BACON  223 

appeared,  would  be  difficult.  Among  the  principal  may 
be  mentioned,  in  addition  to  those  already  referred  to, 
the  monument  to  Lord  Chatham  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
erected  by  the  King  and  Parliament  at  a  cost  of  £6000l ; 
the  statues  of  Dr.  Johnson  (1785),  John  Howard  and  Sir 
William  Jones  (1795),  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral ;  the  two 
groups  on  the  front  of  Somerset  House,  and  the  bronze 
figure  of  '  Thames,'  in  the  courtyard ;  the  figures  in  the 
pediment  of  the  late  East  India  House  ;  a  statue  of  Judge 
Blackstone  for  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford,  and  one  of 
Henry  VI.  in  the  Ante-Chapel  at  Eton ;  Lord  Cornwallis 
at  Calcutta ;  and  Dr.  Anderson  and  the  Earl  and  Countess 
of  Effinpham  at  Jamaica.  He  felt  that  his  best  works 

t/ 

were  his  statues,  and  he  had  the  good  sense  to  disclaim 
any  pretensions  to  that  knowledge  of  the  antique  which 
he  was  accused  of  wanting,  asserting  that  in  the  study  of 
living  nature  he  sought  for  excellence,  as  the  ancients 
used  to  do.  The  plain  realities  of  life  were  within  his 
grasp — works  of  imagination  requiring  refined  percep- 
tion of  beauty,  were  not. 

He  had  throughout  his  life  followed  the  Methodist  pro- 
fession, and  sustained  a  high  character  for  religion  and 
morality.  He  wrote  a  series  of  epitaphs  with  a  view  to 
correct  the  common  violation  of  taste  in  such  compo- 
sitions, and  in  his  letters  and  conversation  he  always 
infused  a  religious  element.  In  the  prime  of  fame  and 
health  he  was  suddenly  attacked  with  inflammation  in 
the  bowels,  which  proved  fatal  in  less  than  two  days,  and 
he  died  at  his  house  in  Newman  Street,  on  the  6th  of 
August,  1799.  At  the  time  several  of  his  monuments 


1  It  is  stated  that  Bacon  prepared  sculptors  for  Public  Works,  he  gave 
a  large  model  for  this  monument,  his  orethren  some  offence  by  this 
and  availed  himself  of  the  Kind's  manoeuvre,  and  yet  more  by  a  pro- 
favour  to  show  it  to  him  privately,  posal  to  erect  all  the  Government 
and  thus  to  obtain  the  order  for  the  monuments  at  a  certain  percentage 
work.  As  it  was  always  the  privi-  below  the  usual  price  —  a  proposal 
lege  of  the  Koyal  Academy  to  select  which  was  very  properly  rejected, 
one  of  the  designs  of  the  competing 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

were  left  unfinished ;  these  he  directed  should  be  com- 
pleted by  his  second  son,  John  Bacon. 

His  wealth — the  well-earned  fruits  of  a  life  of  industry 
— amounting  to  £60,000,  he  divided  equally  among  his 
children.  He  was  buried  in  Whitfield's  Chapel,  in 
Tottenham  Court  Koad,  London ;  and  the  following  in- 
scription, written  by  himself,  was  engraved  on  a  plain 
tablet  over  his  grave  :  "  What  I  was,  as  an  artist,  seemed 
of  some  importance  while  I  lived  ;  but  what  I  really  was, 
as  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  only  thing  of  im- 
portance to  me  now." 

THOMAS  BANKS,R.A.,was  born  onthe  J22nd  of  December, 
1735,  at  Lambeth,  and  was  the  son  of  the  land-steward 
of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  who  intended  to  educate  him 
for  the  profession  of  an  architect,  and  placed  him  under 
Kent  for  that  purpose.  With  him  he  remained  seven 
years,  but  young  Banks  had  formed  a  decided  preference 
for  sculpture,  and  stimulated  by  the  offers  made  by  the 
Society  of  Arts  of  premiums  for  models  in  sculpture,  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  that  art,  and  obtained 
several  of  the  honours  conferred  by  the  Society.  Until 
the  institution  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  he  appears  to  have 
been  self-taught  as  a  sculptor.  He  entered  the  schools  of 
the  Academy  in  1769,  and  in  1770  obtained  the  gold 
medal  for  his  bas-relief  of  '  The  Eape  of  Proserpine.' 
In  1771  his  reputation  was  increased  by  a  group  repre- 
senting '  Mercury,  Argus,  and  lo  ; '  and  in  the  following 
year  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  as  the  travelling-student  from 
the  Academy  for  three  years,  and  through  the  liberality 
of  his  father,  and  the  portion  obtained  with  his  wife 
(Miss  Wooton),  his  resources  were  not  limited  to  the 
allowance  from  the  Academy.  His  first  work  executed 
in  marble  was  '  Caractacus  before  Claudius,'  a  bas-relief 
both  grand  and  simple,  which  was  long  one  of  the  orna- 
ments of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham's  seat  at  Stowe  : 
'Pysche  Stealing  the  Golden  Flame,'  intended  for  a  portrait 


CH.  VI. ]  THOMAS   BANKS  225 

of  the  Princess  Sophia  of  Gloucester,  and  a  statue  of 
4 Love  seizing  the  Human  Soul'  followed,  both  being 
distinguished  by  grace  and  symmetry  of  form,  accuracy 
of  contour,  and  classical  elegance.  While  in  Eome  he 
discovered  that  the  Italian  sculptors  were  far  more  skilful 
in  the  mere  working  of  the  marble  than  our  own,  and 
he  took  lessons  in  carving  of  Cappizoldi,  a  distinguished 
Eoman  sculptor.  He  returned  to  England  in  1775,  and 
took  up  his  abode  at  No.  5  Newman.  Street.  Oxford  Street. 
He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1784,  and  a  Eoyal  Aca- 
demician  in  the  following  year.  f] 

Although  he  had  acquired  fame,  he  had  hitherto  found 
little  profit,  for  neither  in  Eome  nor  in  this  country  was 
his  success  equal  to  his  expectations  —  Nollekens  being  at 
that  time  the  established  favourite  for  busts,  and  Bacon 
for  statuaiy.  In  1784,  -therefore,  he  accepted  an  invitation 
from  the  Empress  Catherine,  and  went  to  Eussia.  'Cupid 
with  a  Moth,'  executed  for  the  Empress,  was  his  principal 
work  in  that  country.  He  received  commissions  for  one 
or  two  others,  to  represent '  The  Armed  Neutrality,'  but 
the  subject  being  uncongenial  to  him,  he  returned  after 
two  years  to  England.  His  first  work  after  his  return 
was  'The  Mourning  Achilles,'  a  cast  greatly  admired 
both  for  its  classic  beauty  and  its  natural  truth.  It  was 
presented  after  his  death  to  the  British  Institution,  where 
it  may  still  be  seen.  Among  his  many  subsequent  per- 
formances, the  best  of  those  not  yet  mentioned  were  an 
alto-relievo  of  '  Thetis  consoling  Achilles,'  and  another  of 
4  Shakspeare,  attended  by  Poetry  and  Painting,'  executed 
for  Alderman  Boydell,  and  now  in  front  of  the  British 
Institution  in  Pall  Mall.  The  '  Falling  Titan,'  which  he 
presented  to  the  Eoyal  Academy  on  his  election,  is  a  very 
fine  production. 

His  first  production  in  monumental  sculpture  excited 
great  attention,  —  this  was  a  memorial  to  the  only 
daughter  of  Sir  B.  Boothby,  now  in  Ashbounie  Church, 
Derbyshire.  The  child  is  represented  on  her  couch 

VOL.  i.  u 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

asleep ;  and  when  the  monument  was  exhibited  at 
Somerset  House,  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  it 
attracted  the  especial  notice  of  Queen  Charlotte  and  the 
Princesses,  and  awakened  deep  feelings  in  many  a  mother's 
heart.  The  tomb  to  Woollett  the  engraver,  in  the  cloisters 
of  Westminster "  Abbey,  was  his  next  work.  Later  in 
life  he  executed  the  monuments  of  Captains  Westcott  and 
Burgess  in  St.  Paul's,  and  of  Sir  Eyre  Coote  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  in  which  with  very  questionable  taste,  he  attempted 
to  improve  the  poetic  feeling  of  our  public  monuments. 
His  strength  was  in  subjects  purely  ideal,  but  he  became 
weak  in  applying  his  lofty  imagination  to  the  plain 
realities  of  life. 

Banks  died  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1805,  and  was 
buried  on  the  south  side  of  Paddington  Churchyard.  A 
tablet  was  set  up  in  Westminster  Abbey  bearing  this 
inscription ':  — "  In  Memory  of  Thomas  Banks,  whose 
superior  abilities  in  the  profession  added  a  lustre  to  the 
arts  of  his  country,  and  whose  character  as  a  man  reflected 
honour  on  human  nature."  As  he  advanced  in  years  he 
grew  strict  in  religious  duties,  and  by  his  purity  of  life 
and  elevation  of  intellect,  was  held  in  great  regard  by 
many  friends.  After  his  death,  Flaxrnan  delivered  an 
eloquent  discourse  on  his  genius  and  character.^  He  lived 
simply,  but  was  always  generous  in  rendering  personal 
visits  of  sympathy  and  help  to  the  poor,  and  in  encou- 
raging art  in  all  its  forms.  He  made  a  collection  of 
drawings,  &c.,  by  the  old  masters,  and  left  behind  him 

iarge  number  of  masterly  sketches  of  his  own. 

The  two  Architects  who  were  added  to  the  number  of 
Eoyal  Academicians  during  the  Presidency  of  Sir  Joshua 
Eeynolds,  were  James  Wyatt  and  John  Yenn. 

JAMES  WYATT,  E.A.,  was  one  of  the  most  extensively 
patronised  architects  of  the  last  century ;  but  although 
the  commissions  he  received  were  both  numerous  and 


CH.  VI.]  JAMES  WYATT  227 

extensive,  he  was  far  from  accumulating  a  large  fortune, 
and  was  often  involved  in  pecuniary  difficulties.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  farmer,  who  was  also  a  dealer  in  timber,  and 
was  born  at  Barton  Constable,  in  Staffordshire,  in  1746. 
While  quite  a  boy  he  so  forcibly  attracted  the  attention  of 
Lord  Bagot,  by  the  germ  of  talent  he  discovered  in  him, 
that  when  that  nobleman  went  to  Italy  as  Ambassador  to 
the  Pope,  he  took  James  Wyatt  with  him  (although 
then  only  fourteen)  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of 
studying  architecture  in  Eome.  There  he  spent  three  or 
four  years  examining  and  measuring  the  chief  remains  of 
ancient  architecture.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  Venice, 
where  he  studied  for  two  years  under  Vincentini,  an  archi- 
tect and  painter,  and  returned  to  England  in  1766.  In 
1770  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
and  at  that  time  commenced  the  work  by  which  he  first 
acquired  celebrity,  the  old  Pantheon  in  Oxford  Street, 
which  was  finished  and  opened  in  1772.  It  was  fitted  up 
in  a  style  of  great  splendour,  and  the  '  Eotunda '  or  great 
room  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  gay  and  fashionable 
world  —  so  much  so  that  Walpole  called  it  the  winter 
Eanelagh  of  the  metropolis.  It  was  unfortunately  burnt 
down  in  January,  1792,  and  no  detailed  drawings  were 
preserved  of  the  interior,  as  designed  by  Wyatt.  The 
front  and  portico  in  Oxford  Street  were  rebuilt  and  altered 
after  the  fire. 

The  fame  which  this  resort  of  the  fashion  of  the  day 
obtained  for  its  architect,  led  to  his  receiving  numerous 
commissions  to  erect  mansions  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  which  are  regarded  as  great  improvements  on  the 
usual  designs  then  in  vogue  for  private  residences,  not  so 
much  in  architectural  form,  as  in  the  superior  accom- 
modation and  refinement  of  comfort,  which.he  introduced 
into  domestic  buildings.  There  is  a  degree  of  sameness 
in  his  simple  Greco-Italian  residences,  which  may  per- 
haps be  accounted  for  by  the  statement  which  is  made, 
that  his  engagements  were  so  numerous  that  he  gene- 

Q  2 


228  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  VI. 

rally  sketched  out  his  design  in  the  carriage  as  he 
travelled  to  the  place  where  it  was  to  be  erected.  In 
1778  he  was  employed  in  making  additions  to  some  of 
the  colleges  at  Oxford,  and  having  turned  his  attention 
for  some  years  chiefly  to  the  study  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture, he  made  his  first  effort  in  this  style  at  Lee  near 
Canterbury,  in  the  mansion  he  erected  for  Mr.  Barrett. 

In  this  new  manner,  Wyatt  gained  as  much  popularity 
as  in  his  former  one  ;  and  if  subsequent  architects  have  far 
excelled  him,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  we  owe  to 
him  in  a  great  measure  the  practical  revival  of  the 
Gothic  style ;  for  that  which  his  successors  found  de- 
lineated and  measured  for  them  on  paper  ready  for  re- 
ference, he  had  to  draw  and  measure  for  himself,  and 
thus  to  acquire  by  great  labour,  a  knowledge  of  all 
its  elaborate  details.  In  this  style  he  was  extensively 
employed  at  Oxford,  in  the  observatory,  the  library  of 
Oriel  College,  and  alterations  at  Balliol ;  and  also  in  making 
restorations  at  Salisbury  and  Lichfield  Cathedrals.  Un- 
fortunately he  was  reckless  in  dealing  with  relics  of 
antiquity,  and  many  of  his  incongruous  adaptations  of 
pieces  of  monuments  and  bits  of  altar  screens,  to  form 
"  restorations,"  have  earned  for  him  among  antiquarians 
and  archaeologists  the  name  of  "the  destroyer."  In  1795 
he  erected  Fonthill  Abbey  for  Mr.  Beckford,  and  in  the 
following  year  the  castellated  Eoyal  Military  Academy  at 
Woolwich.  The  latter  commission  he  owed  to  the  fact 
that  in  1796  he  succeeded  Sir  William  Chambers  as  Sur- 
veyor-General, and  as  such,  was  subsequently  employed 
at  the  House  of  Lords,  and  at  Windsor  Castle  by 
George  III.  In  1801  he  made  designs  for  Downing 
College,  which  were  not,  however,  approved,  and  were 
severely  censured  by  Mr.  T.  Hope.  The  addition  of 
wings  to  the  House  at  Chiswick ;  a  Gothic  palace  com- 
menced at  Kew,  and  since  demolished ;  Cashiobury ;  and 
Mausolems  at  Cobham  and  Brocklesby,  were  among  his 
later  works.  He  died  on  5th  September,  1813,  from 


CH.  VI.]  JOHN  YENN  229 

the  effects  of  an  accident,  having  been  overturned  in  a 
carriage,  while  travelling  from  Bath  to  London.     He  felt 
a  widow  and  four  sons,  one  of  whom  was  the  architect  .-..  ji  »' 
of  Drury  Lane  Theatre.     He  became  an  E.A.  in  1785,  (.  w^/- 
and  in  1805,  during  the  period  in  which  the   office  of  ( 
President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  was  vacated  by  Ben- 
jamin West,  it  was  filled  by  Mr.  Wyatt — but  it  can  only 
be  regarded  as  a  temporary  appointment  during  a  party 
strife,  until  the  division  among  the  members  was  healed, 
and  peace  restored. 

JOHN  YENX,  E.A.,  was  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  1769.  In  1771  he  gained  the  gold  medal  for  the  best 
architectural  design  for  a  "  nobleman's  villa,"  and  was 
elected  an  Associate  in  1774.  By  the  designs  he  ex- 
hibited at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  he  seems  to  have  been 
chiefly  employed  in  domestic  architecture,  erecting 
mansions  in  town  and  country  for  the  nobility  and  gentry. 
He  was  elected  a  Eoyal  Academician  in  1791,  and  was 
appointed  treasurer  in  1796,  holding  the  office  by  special 
warrant  under  the  King's  sign-manual,  in  succession  to 
Sir  William  Chambers.  This  appointment  he  resigned 
in  1820,  and  he  died  in  the  following  year. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  DURING  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  SIR  JOSHUA 
REYNOLDS,  WHO  DID  NOT  SUBSEQUENTLY  BECOME  ROYAL 
ACADEMICIANS. 

Associate  Engravers:  T.  MAJOR,  S.  F.  RAYENET,  P.  C.  CANOT,  J.  BROWNE, 
T.  CHAMBERS,  V.  GREEN,  F.  HA  WARD,  J.  COLLYER,  J.  HEATH. 

Associates:  J.  GEORGE,  E.  MARTIN,  A.  ZTJCCHI,  M.  A.  HOOKER,  W.  PARS, 
N.  T.  BALL,  B.  REBECCA,  W.  TOMKINS,  T.  ELMER,  E.  EDWARDS, 
W.  PARRY,  J.  H.  MORTIMER,  J.  NIXON,  H.  HONE,  G.  STFBBS, 
J.  WRIGHT,  E.  STEVENS,  JOSEPH  BONOMI. 

IT  was  determined  very  early  in  the  history  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  that  the  claim  to  full  academic 
honours  should  be  reserved  for  those  who  had  previously 
been  recognised  as  deserving  of  the  rank  of  associates. 
Consequently  in  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  referred 
to  a  large  number  of  those  who  were  elected  associates 
during  the  presidency  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  for  within 
the  same  period  no  less  than  thirty-one  were  chosen  to 
fill  the  higher  grade  of  Royal  Academicians.  Eight 
others,  who  were  chosen  associates  prior  to  1791,  were 
afterwards  elected  to  full  membership,  and  of  them  we 
shall  have  to  give  an  account  hereafter.  These  were  Philip 
Reinagle,  W.  R.  Bigg,  Sir  F.  Bourgeois,  Sir  R.  Smirke, 
Thomas  Stothard,  Sir  T.  Lawrence,  Henry  Tresham,  and 
N.  Marchant. 

Fifty-eight  associates  were  elected  between  1770  and 
1791.  Nine  of  these  were  engravers  in  the  separate  class 
appointed  for  that  branch  of  art,  31  have  already  been 
mentioned  as  Royal  Academicians,  and  18  others  re- 


CH.  VII.]  MAJOR  — RAVENET  231 

mained  in  the  rank  of  associates, —  sixteen  of  these  being 
painters,  and  two  architects. 

The  ASSOCIATE  ENGRAVERS  first  elected  (in  1770)  were 
Thomas  Major,  Simon  Eavenet,  P.  C.  Canot,  John  Browne, 
and  Thomas  Chambers.  The  full  complement  of  six  was 
obtained  in  1775,  by  the  addition  of  Valentine  Green. 
Three  death  vacancies  were  subsequently  filled  as  follows : 
in  1783,  Francis  Haward ;  1786,  Joshua  Collyer  ;  and  in 
1791,  James  Heath. 

THOMAS  MAJOR,  A.E.,  was  born  in  1720.  In  early  life 
he  resided  in  Paris,  where  he  engraved  several  plates  after 
Wouvermani,  Berghem,  and  others.  On  his  return  to 
England,  he  was  employed  on  a  variety  of  subjects, — 
portraits  of  Earl  Granville,  Cardinal  Pole,  and  others; 
landscapes  after  Claude  and  Poussin ;  and  general  subjects 
after  Murillo,  Teniers,  &c., — all  of  which  he  produced  in 
a  neat,  firm  style,  displaying  good  qualities  of  effect  and 
execution,  and  especially  a  feathery  lightness  in  his  etching 
of  foliage.  In  1786  he  published  a  set  of  twenty-four 
prints,  after  the  designs  of  J.  B.  Borra,  illustrating  the 
4  Euins  of  Pa3stum.'  His  merits  as  an  engraver  are  con- 
siderable, and  for  several  years  he  held  the  appointment 
of  seal-engraver  to  the  King.  He  was  an  early  friend  of 
Gainsborough,  and  engraved  his  fine  'Madonna.'  In 
1770  he  was  elected  as  an  Associate  Engraver  of  the 
Royal  Academy.  He  died  at  his  house  in  Tavistock  Row, 
Covent  Garden,  on  the  30th  of  December,  1799,  in  his 
80th  year. 

SIMON  FRANCIS  RAVENET,  A.E.,  was  a  Frenchman,  and 
was  born  in  Paris  in  1 706.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Le  Bas,  and 
practised  his  art  with  considerable  success  in  his  own 
country,  until  invited  by  Hogarth  to  England,  to  take 
part  with  Baron  and  Scotin  in  executing  the  engravings 
from  his  pictures  of  *  Marriage  a,  la  Mode.'  He  settled  in 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cu.  VII. 

London  about  1750,  and  was  largely  employed  among 
the  booksellers,  and  also  by  Boy  dell.  He  copied  Hou- 
braken's  portraits,  for  Smollett's  "  History  of  England ; " 
the  '  Four  Ages,'  after  Mercier ;  '  Sophonisba  ; '  and  the 
4  Story  of  Tobias,'  besides  a  variety  of  subjects  after  the 
great  Italian  masters,  and  several  portraits  by  Eeynolds 
and  others.  He  gave  both  colour  and  brilliancy  to  his 
engravings,  and  finished  them  with  great  precision.  His 
son  also  followed  the  same  profession,  and  W.  W.  Eyland 
was  his  pupil.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in 
1770,  and  died  in  April,  1774.  He  was  buried  in  Old 
St.  Pancras  Churchyard. 

PETEE  CHAKLES  CANOT,  A.E.,  was  also  a  Frenchman,  and 
was  born  in  1710.  He  came  to  England  in  1740,  and 
resided  in  this  country  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  engraved  a  large  number  of  landscapes  :  among  them 
two  views  of  Westminster  and  London  Bridge,  after  Scott ; 
a  series  of  marine  views  and  sea-engagements,  after 
Paton ;  twelve  sea-pieces  by  Peter  Monainy ;  Views  on 
the  St.  Lawrence  Eiver,  by  Swain  ;  and  several  works  of 
Vandevelde,  Teniers,  Pillement  and  Claude.  His  plates 
were  very  popular,  and  many  of  them,  especially  his  sea- 
pieces,  possess  great  merit.  He  was  elected  an  Associate 
Engraver  in  1770,  and  died  in  Kentish  Town  in  1777. 

JOHN  BROWNE,  A.E.,  was  born  at  Oxford  in  1742,  and 
was  a  pupil  of  Tierney  at  the  same  time  with  William 
Woollett,  who  worked  with  him  in  a  style  of  landscape 
engraving,  effected  by  the  union  of  etching  and  the  graving 
tool,  which  greatly  increased  the  polish  and  effect  of  their 
works.  Many  of  the  plates  he  etched  were  finished  by 
Woollett :  among  them,  '  Celedon  and  Amelia,'  from 
Thomson's  "  Seasons  ; "  the  '  Jocund  Peasants,'  &c.  Those 
which  are  exclusively  his  own  are  etched  and  engraved 
in  a  masterly  style.  His  best  work  is  perhaps  '  St.  John 
preaching  in  the  Wilderness.'  He  displayed  great  judg- 


CH.  VII.]  CHAMBERS— GREEN  233 

ment  in  the  selection  of  his  subjects,  chosen  chiefly  from 
the  landscapes  of  Claude,  Poussin,  Eubens,  and  Hobbema. 
He  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1770,  and  died 
at  Wandsworth  on  the  2nd  of  October,  1801,  in  his  60th 
year.  His  widow  received  a  pension  from  the  Academy 
for  thirty  years  from  that  date.  Boydell  and  other  print- 
sellers  gave  him  ample  employment,  and  in  private  life 
he  bore  a  high  character  for  uprightness,  integrity  and 
good  nature. 

THOMAS  CHAMBERS,  A.E.,  was  born  in  London  about  the 
year  1724.  He  was  of  an  Irish  family,  and  studied  draw- 
ing and  engraving  both  in  Dublin  and  Paris.  Alderman 
Boydell  employed  him  to  engrave  several  large  plates  for 
him,  of  which  the  best  are  '  St.  Martin  dividing  his  Cloak,' 
after  Eubens,  and  '  A  Concert,'  after  Caravaggio.  There 
was  great  freedom  and  firmness  in  his  manner,  but  the 
effect  was  not  pleasing,  and  his  drawing  was  not  al- 
together correct.  He  engraved  several  portraits  for  the 
booksellers,  and  most  of  those  in  Walpole's  "Anecdotes 
of  Painters."  His  principal  works  are  '  Mrs.  Quarrington 
as  St.  Agnes,'  after  Eeynolds,  and  the '  Death  of  Marshal 
Turenne.'  He  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1770. 
Occasionally  he  was  the  assistant  of  Grignion,  but  he  did 
not  prosper  in  his  profession,  and  unhappily,  being 
pressed  by  his  landlord  for  the  rent  owing  for  the  rooms 
he  occupied  in  Little  St.  Martin's  Lane,  he  left  his  home 
in  distress  of  mind,  and  his  body  was  found  floating  in 
the  river,  near  Battersea,  a  few  day  afterwards.  This 
happened  in  1789. 

VALENTINE  GREEN,  A.E.,  was  celebrated  as  one  of  the  most 
eminent  mezzotint  engravers  of  the  early  English  School. 
He  was  born  at  Hales  Owen,  near  Birmingham,  in  1739. 
His  father  intended  him  to  follow  the  profession  of  the 
law,  and  he  was  accordingly  placed  with  a  practitioner  at 
Ensham,  in  Worcestershire ;  but  disliking  this  employment, 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  VII. 

after  spending  two  years  in  a  lawyer's  office,  he  left  it, 
without  his  father's  concurrence,  and  became  the  pupil 
of  a  line  engraver  at  Worcester.  In  1765  he  came  to 
London,  and  began  to  turn  his  attention  to  mezzotint,  in 
which  style,  without  instruction,  he  attained  to  rare  excel- 
lence. M'Ardell  and  Earlom  share  with  him  the  credit 
of  carrying  this  branch  of  the  art  to  a  perfection  never 
previously  attained.  He  acquired'  great  reputation  by 
his  many  prints  after  West,  especially  two  large  plates, 
published  a  few  years  after  his  arrival  in  London,  of  the 
'  Eeturn  of  Eegulus  to  Carthage  '  and  '  Hannibal  swearing 
Enmity  to  the  Eomans,' — two  of  West's  best  works, 
originally  painted  for  George  III.,  and  now  at  Hampton 
Court.  One  of  Green's  masterpieces  is  the  '  Stoning  of 
St.  Stephen,'  also  after  West.  In  1775  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  six  Associate  Engravers  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
and  in  1782  published  a  "Eeview  of  the  Polite  Arts  in 
France,  compared  with  their  Present  State  in  England." 
He  also  wrote  the  "  History  of  the  City  of  Worcester." 

In  1789  he  was  granted  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
engraving  the  pictures  of  the  Diisseldorf  Gallery  by  the 
Elector  of  Bavaria,  who  conferred  on  him  the  title  of 
Hof  Kupfersticher  (court  engraver).  By  the  year  1795 
he  had  published  twenty-two  prints  of  that  collection; 
but,  unfortunately,  when  the  city  was  besieged  by  the 
French,  in  1798,  the  castle  and  gallery  were  demolished, 
and  his  property  and  prospects  of  remuneration  for  his 
labours  at  once  destroyed.  He  executed  sixteen  plates 
from  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds's  portrait-pieces,  and  a  like 
number  of  plates  from  West's  historical  subjects.  Besides 
these,  he  engraved  several  large  plates  after  Eubens, 
including  the  '  Descent  from  the  Cross,'  at  Antwerp  ;  and 
by  unremitting  exertion,  during  a  period  of  nearly  forty 
years,  produced  about  400  plates  after  the  most  celebrated 
ancient  and  modern  painters.  On  the  foundation  of  the 
British  Institution,  in  1805,  he  was  appointed  keeper,  and 
gained  alike  the  respect  of  the  public  and  of  the  artists 


CH.  VIL]  HAWARD  — COLLYER  235 

by  his  zealous  exertions  in  that  capacity.  He  died  in  St. 
Alban's  Street,  London,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1813,  in  his 
74th  year. 

FRANCIS  HAWARD,  A.E.,  was  born  on  19th  of  April,  1759, 
and  became,  in  1776,  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  of 
which  he  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1783.  He 
was  chiefly  employed  in  copying  the  portraits  made  by 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  and  the  fancy  pieces  designed  by 
Angelica  Kauffman.  One  of  the  best  specimens  of  En- 
glish engraving  is  the  copy  he  made  of  Eeynolds's  famous 
picture  of  '  Mrs.  Siddons  as  the  Tragic  Muse.'  Other 
admirable  examples  of  his  style  are  the  '  Infant  Academy ' 
and  '  Cyrnon  and  Iphigenia,'  after  the  same  master.  Of 
his  portraits,  the  best  is  that  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
1793.  He  lived  at  29  Marsh  Street,  Lambeth,  and 
died  there  in  1797.  His  widow  afterwards  received  a 
pension  from  the  Eoyal  Academy  for  forty-two  years. 

JOSEPH  COLLYEE,  A.E.,  was  born  in  September,  1748, 
and  was  a  pupil  of  Anthony  Walker.  On  the  death  of  his 
master  he  at  once  sought  to  form  a  connection  among  the 
booksellers,  his  neat  style  of  engraving  suiting  admirably 
for  book-illustration.  In  this  way  he  obtained  adequate 
employment,  and  subsequently  attracted  the  notice  of 
Alderman  Boydell,  for  whom  he  made  an  engraving  after 
D.  Teniers,  and  also  of  the  '  Irish  Volunteers,'  by  Wheatley, 
in  which  he  took  a  higher  rank  in  his  profession.  Subse- 
quently he  won  great  praise  by  his  copies  of  Sir  J. 
Eeynolds's  '  Venus '  and  '  Una,'  in  the  manner  of  chalk, 
closely  imitating,  not  only  the  character  of  the  originals, 
but  also  the  touches  and  pencil  of  the  master.  He  also 
engraved,  with  great  success,  the  '  Girl  with  a  Cat ; '  the 
portrait  of  '  Miss  Palmer,'  the  niece  of  Sir  Joshua  ;  and  of 
Eeynolds,  by  himself.  He  became  a  student  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1771,  and  was  elected  an  Associate 
Engraver  in  1786.  Subsequently  he  was  appointed  por- 


236  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cii.  VII 

trait-engraver   to    Queen   Charlotte.     The    date    of  his 
decease  is  not  known. 

JAMES  HEATH,  A.E.,  born  in  1765,  was  a  pupil  of  Collyer, 
and  must  have  derived  from  his  instruction  some  portion 
of  that  talent  which  distinguished  his  style.  His  numerous 
engravings  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  then  rising  taste 
for  book-illustration,  since  his  execution  far  excelled  that 
of  his  predecessors  in  the  same  class  of  works.  In  the 
beginning  of  his  career  he  engraved  several  portraits 
published  in  "Lord  Orford's  Works  and  Correspondence." 
Subsequently  the  designs  of  Stothard  were  his  especial 
study,  and  both  engraver  and  artist  gained  celebrity  by  the 
perfect  rendering  which  the  burin  of  the  one  gave  to  the 
graceful  drawings  of  the  other.  The  publications  of 
Harrison  and  Bell,  in  which  these  prints  appeared,  were 
eagerly  sought  for,  and  are  still  valued  for  the  sake  of  these 
illustrations.  His  larger  plates  are  the  '  Death  of  Major 
Pierson,'  after  Singleton ;  the  '  Dead  Soldier,'  after  Wright ; 
the  'Eiots  in  1780,'  after  Wheatley;  the  'Death  of 
Nelson,'  after  West ;  and  several  scenes  from  '  Shak- 
speare,'  after  Smirke  and  Peters.  The  print  of  the 
'  Canterbury  Pilgrims,'  after  Stothard,  was  also  completed 
by  him.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1 7  91 ,  and 
was  appointed  engraver  to  the  King.  He  died  in  1835. 

Passing  from  the  associate  engravers  elected  during 
the  presidency  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  we  now  have 
to  notice  the  sixteen  painters  elected  as  associates  during 
the  same  period,  who  did  not  subsequently  attain  to  the 
higher  rank  of  Eoyal  Academicians.  These  were  elected 
as  follows:  —  in  1770,  George  James,  Elias  Martin, 
Antonio  Zucchi,  Michael  Angelo  Eooker,  and  William 
Pars ;  in  1771,  N.  T.  Dall,  B.  Eebecca,  and  William 
Tomkins;  in  1772,  Stephen  Elmer;  in  1773,  Edward 
Edwards;  in  1776,  William  Parry;  in  1778,  John 
Mortimer  and  James  Nixon ;  in  1779,  Horace  Hone ; 


CH.  VII.]     .  JAMES— MAETIN— ZUCCHI  237 

in  1780,  George  Stubbs;    and  in  1781,  Joseph  Wright, 
of  Derby. 

GEORGE  JAMES,  A.E.A.,  was  a  portrait  painter.  He 
studied  for  some  years  in  Eome,  and  was  elected  an  Asso- 
ciate in  1770.  He  commenced  his  profession  in  Dean 
Street,  Soho,  but  afterwards,  in  1780,  removed  to  Bath. 
There  he  found  ample  employment,  and  during  many 
years  contributed  a  large  number  of  portraits,  and  some 
fancy  pieces,  carefully  painted,  and  not  inelegant  in  design 
and  execution,  to  the  exhibitions.  He  inherited  property 
from  his  grandfather,  who  built  Meard's  Court,  in  Dean 
Street,  and  married  a  lady  of  fortune ;  so  that  he  was, 
to  a  great  degree,  independent  of  his  profession,  nor  did 
he  take  a  very  high  rank  in  it.  A  few  years  before  his 
death  he  went  to  reside  at  Boulogne,  and  there,  in  com- 
mon with  many  more  of  our  countrymen,  fell  a  victim 
to  Eobespierre's  tyranny,  and  was  confined  in  a  dismal 
prison.  His  constitution  sank  under  this  cruel  oppression, 
and  he  died  early  in  the  year  1795. 

ELIAS  MARTIN,  A.E.A.,  was  admitted  a  student  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1769,  and  an  Associate  in  1770  ;  and 
appears  to  have  divided  his  talents  between  landscapes  and 
portraits.  The  former  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  views 
in  this  country  and  in  Sweden,  some  of  them  of  an 
architectural  character, —  the  latter,  chalk  drawings  of 
ladies  and  children.  The  period  of  his  decease  is  un- 
known ;  but  his  name  was  not  removed  from  the  list  of 
associates  till  1832, —  it  being  supposed  that  he  was  then 
dead,  sixty-two  years  having  elapsed  since  his  election. 

ANTONIO  ZUCCHI,  A.E.A.,  an  Italian  artist,  long  resident 
in  England,  was  an  exhibitor  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  from 
its  foundation,  contributing  views  of  ruins  of  ancient 
temples,  and  similar  works.  He  became  an  Associate  in 
1770.  He  was  brought  to  this  country  by  the  brothers 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  VII. 

Adam,  the  architects,  who  employed  him  to  paint  decora- 
3  t*~     ti°ns  f°r  tne  edifices  erected  by  them.  He  painted  ceilings 
fAA»i«*¥or  the  Queen's  house,  in  St.  James  Park  (old  Buckingham 
*-c        House),  and  at  Osterley  Park>/v  These  works  were  exe- 
f*£4»jbttted  in  a  light  and  pleasant  manner,  and  were  chiefly 
scenes  of  poetic  and  mythological  history.     He  became, 
in  17glj  the  husba^  Of   Angelica  Kauffman ;    but  the 
union  did  not  prove  a  happy  one.     In  August  of  that 
year  he  went  with  her  to  Eome,  where  he  continued  to 
reside  till  his  death  in  December,  1795. 

MICHAEL  ANTGELO  BOOKER,  A.E.A.,was  the  son  of  Edward 
Eooker,  an  engraver  of  architectural  subjects,  and  was 
born  in  London  in  1743.  His  father  first  instructed  him 
in  the  art  of  engraving,  and  he  was  subsequently  a  pupil 
of  Paul  Sandby,  who  taught  him  landscape  and  water- 
colour  painting,  and  whose  style  he  very  closely  followed, 
drawing  with  great  care,  and  enlivening  his  scenes  with 
well-sketched  figures.  In  1769  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  was  one  of  the  first  associates 
elected  in  the  following  year.  In  1772  he  exhibited  a 
view  of  '  Temple  Bar,'  which  possessed  considerable 
merit,  and  was  much  admired.  His  views  of  the  colleges, 
which  he  engraved  for  the  Oxford  Almanac  for  several  con- 
secutive years  (for  each  of  which  he  received  fifty  guineas), 
are  still  admired  as  works  of  great  merit.  They  comprise 
some  of  the  best  views  taken  of  that  interesting  city. 
For  several  years  Eooker  was  the  principal  scene-painter 
for  the  Haymarket  Theatre.  He  died  on  the  3rd  of 
March,  1801,  and  was  interred  in  the  burial-ground  of 
St.  Martin-in-the-Fields,  in  the  Kentish  Town  Eoad.  The 
remainder  of  his  drawings  were  sold  after  his  death  for 
£1240. 

WILLIAM  PARS,  A.E. A.,  was  born  in  London  in  1742, 
and  first  learnt  the  rudiments  of  art  at  Shipley's  drawing 
school,  in  the  Strand.  Subsequently  he  studied  in  the 


CH.  VII. ]  PAHS  —  DALL  239 

St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy ;  and  on  the  opening  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  became  a  student  there.  In  1764  he 
gained  the  Society  of  Arts'  twenty-guinea  premium  for 
historical  painting.  When  the  Dilettanti  Society  proposed 
that  a  party  of  gentlemen  should  proceed  to  Greece  to  make 
further  researches  among  the  remains  of  antiquity  to  be 
found  in  Ionia,  Pars  was  chosen  draughtsman  to  the 
expedition,  and  was  absent  from  England  from  this  cause 
for  three  years.  Subsequently  he  accompanied  the  then 
Lord  Palmerston  on  a  tour  through  Italy  and  Switzerland, 
to  make  drawings  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins  and 
antiquities ;  maiiy  of  these  were  engraved  in  aquatinta 
by  Paul  Sandby.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1770, 
and  in  1774  was  chosen  by  the  Dilettanti  Society  to 
receive  the  pension  for  a  certain  number  of  years  which 
they  then  determined  to  bestow  upon  some  rising  artist, 
to  enable  him  to  complete  his  studies  in  Eome.  There 
he  remained,  pursuing  his  studies,  until  the  year  1782, 
when  he  died  of  a  fever,  which  abruptly  terminated  his 
career  in  his  40th  year. 

NICHOLAS  THOMAS  DALL,  A.E.A.,  was  a  native  of  Denmark, 
who  settled  in  London  about  1760.  Eight  years  afterwards 
he  obtained  the  first  premium  for  the  best  landscape 
painting,  given  by  the  Society  of  Arts.  He  was  chiefly 
occupied  in  painting  scenes  for  Covent  Garden  Theatre ; 
but  he  nevertheless  found  time,  after  his  election  as  an 
Associate  in  1771,  to  contribute  a  large  number  of  land- 
scapes to  the  Eoyal  Academy  exhibitions,  chiefly  views  in 
Yorkshire,  where  he  was  extensively  employed  by  the 
Duke  of  Bolton,  Lord  Harewood,  and  the  owners  of 
property  in  that  county.  He  died  in  Great  Newport 
Street,  in  the  spring  of  1777,  leaving  a  widow  and 
children,  for  whose  aid  the  managers  of  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  gave  a  benefit,  out  of  respect  to  the  artist. 

BIAGIO  EEBECCA,  A.E.A.,  was  a  student  at  the  Eoyal 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY       [On.  VII. 

Academy  in  1769,  and  was  chosen  an  Associate  in  1771. 
In  that  year  he  contributed  a  painting  of  '  Hagar  and 
Ishmael '  to  the  exhibition,  and  '  A  Sacrifice  to  Minerva ' 
in  1772,  but  nothing  for  several  subsequent  years.  He  also 
contributed  towards  the  ornamentation  of  the  new  rooms 
of  the  Academy  at  Somerset  House.  He  died  in  his  lodg- 
ings in  Oxford  Street,  aged  seventy- three,  on  the  22nd 
of  February,  1808. 

WILLIAM  TOMKIXS,  A.R  A.,  the  son  and  nephew  of  artists, 
was  born  in  London,  about  the  year  1730.  In  1763  he 
obtained  the  second  premium  of  twenty-five  guineas  for 
the  best  landscape,  offered  by  the  Society  of  Arts,  and  in 
1771  became  an  Associate  of  the  Koyal  Academy.  He 
made  some  copies  after  Claude  Lorraine,  and  from 
Hobbema,  and  other  Dutch  artists,  and  painted  nu- 
merous landscapes,  and  views  of  gentlemen's  seats,  in 
the  West  and  North  of  England ;  also,  a  series  of 
views,  for  which  he  received  a  commission  from  the  Earl 
of  Fife,  of  his  lordship's  seat  in  Scotland.  He  died  in 
Queen  Anne  Street,  East,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1792, 
leaving  two  sons,  one  of  whom  was  celebrated  as  an 
engraver  (a  pupil  of  Bartolozzi),  and  the  other  also 
worked  in  aquatinta. 

STEPHEN  ELMEE,  A.E.A.,  elected  an  Associate  in  1772, 
is  principally  remembered  as  a  painter  of  dead  game  and 
objects  of  still-life,  which  he  executed  with  a  very  bold 
pencil,  and  with  striking  fidelity  to  nature.  He  died  in 
1796,  at  Farnham,  in  Surrey,  where  he  resided  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life.  An  exhibition  of  his  works 
was  made  by  his  nephew  in  1799,  when  148  pictures 
were  collected.  Many  of  those  remaining  unsold  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  Gerrard  Street,  Soho,  in  February,  1801, 
together  with  a  choice  collection  of  prints  by  Woollett. 

EDWARD  EDWARDS,  A.E.  A.,  was  born  on  the  7th  of  March, 


CH.  VII.]  EDWARDS  — PARRY  241 

1738,  in  Castle  Street,  Leicester  Square,  where  his  father 
was  a  carver,  at  which  trade  his  son  was  employed,  till  he 
showed  a  decided  taste  for  drawing,  when  he  took  lessons 
from  a  master ;  in  1759  was  admitted  a  student  at  the 
Duke  of  Eichmoud's  Gallery,  and  eventually  became  a 
member  of  the  St.  Martin's  Lane  Academy.  Subsequently 
he  was  employed,  both  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  and 
by  Alderman  Boydell,  to  make  drawings  from  the  works 
of  the  old  masters.  He  contributed  a  scene  from  the 
"  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona  "  to  the  Shakspeare  Gallery, 
and  painted  Scriptural  and  classic  subjects,  and  portraits, 
which  he  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  He  was  one 
of  the  students  in  its  schools  from  1769,  and  was  chosen 
an  Associate  in  1773.  In  1775  he  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Udny,  by  whose  aid  he  visited  Italy,  carefully  studying 
art  and  nature  in  that  country.  On  three  occasions  he 
obtained  prizes  from  the  Society  of  Arts  for  drawing, 
historical  painting,  and  landscape.  On  the  death  of 
Samuel  Wale  he  was  appointed,  in  1788,  teacher  of  per- 
spective at  the  Academy,  and  continued  to  fulfil  the  duties 
of  that  office  till  his  death.  He  published  a  treatise  on 
the  subject,  and  the  "  Anecdotes  of  Painters,"  bearing  his 
name,  which  he  compiled  at  intervals  during  his  life,  as  a 
continuation  to  those  of  Walpole,  and  which  contain  much 
interesting  information  in  regard  to  the  history  of  art  in 
this  country  at  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  King 
George  III.  He  painted  many  excellent  arabesques  for 
the  Hon.  Charles  Hamilton,  at  Bath,  in  1782-3,  and  for 
Horace  Walpole  in  the  following  year ;  and  finished,  in 
1792,  a  series  of  fifty- two  etchings,  of  various  subjects. 
He  died  on  the  19th  of  December,  1806,  and  was  buried 
in  Old  St.  Pancras  Churchyard. 

WILLIAM  PARRY,  A.R.A.,  was  born  in  London  in  1742,  and 
was  the  son  of  the  celebrated  blind  Welsh  haq)ist,for  whose 
concerts  he  made  a  small  etching,  which  served  as  a  card 
of  admittance,  representing  his  father  playing  on  the  harp. 

VOL.  i.  R 

$ 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY       [On.  VII. 

First  learning  drawing  in  Mr.  Shipley's  school,  he  next 
studied  from  the  antique  in  the  Duke  of  Kichmond's 
Gallery,  and  afterwards  became  a  pupil  of  Sir  J.  Eeynolds. 
About  the  same  time  he  studied  in  the  St.  Martin's  Lane 
Academy,  and  in  1769  entered  the  Koyal  Academy 
schools.  He  was  so  fortunate  as  to  gain  several  pre- 
miums from  the  Society  of  Arts,  and  to  obtain  the 
patronage  of  Sir  W.  W.  Wynne,  by  whose  generosity  he 
was  enabled  to  visit  Italy  in  1770.  After  four  years  he 
returned  to  England,  and  in  1776  was  chosen  an  associate 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  For  a  year  or  two  he  practised 
portrait  painting  ;  but  meeting  with  little  encouragement, 
he  went  back  to  Borne  in  1778,  and  remained  there  for 
several  years,  until  ill-health  compelled  him  to  return  to 
England.  He  only  survived  a  short  time,  and  died  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1791. 

JOHN  HAMILTON  MORTIMER,  A.E.A.,  was  born  in  1741  at 
Eastbourne,  Sussex,  where  his  father  was  the  collector  of 
customs.  From  an  uncle  who  was  an  itinerant  artist,  he 
acquired  a  strong  inclination  to  become  a  painter,  and 
his  father  gratified  his  wish  by  paying  a  hundred  pounds 
premium  to  Hudson,  to  receive  him  as  a  pupil.  He  had 
already  practised  sketching  near  his  rough  sea-coast  home  ; 
now  he  desired  to  learn  colouring,  and  finding  he  could 
do  little  with  Hudson,  he  left  him  to  study  with  Pine,  a 
good  colourist,  and  to  draw  from  the  antique  in  the 
Duke  of  Bichmond's  gallery.  There  he  gained  the  favour- 
able notice  both  of  Cipriani  and  Moser,  and  the  Duke 
wished  to  retain  him  to  paint  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  his 
'mansions,  after  the  fashion  of  those  days.  But  Mortimer 
had  a  higher  ambition,  and  disputed  with  Bomney,  in 
1765,  the  claim  to  the  prize  of  fifty  guineas,  offered  by 
the  Society  of  Arts  for  the  best  historical  picture,  in  his 
painting  of  '  Edward  the  Confessor  seizing  his  Mother's 
Treasures.'  He  subsequently  had  adjudged  to  him  by  the 
same  society  one  hundred  guineas  for  his  picture  of '  St. 


CH.  Vn.]  J.  H.  MORTIMER  243 

Paul  converting  the  Britons,'  which  afterwards  became 
the  property  of  Dr.  Bates,  who  presented  it  in  1778  to 
the  church  of  Wycombe,  Bucks.  He  acquired  the 
friendship  of  Eeynolds,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
King,  for  whom  he  painted  a  coach-panel,  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  '  Battle  of  Agincourt ; '  and  by  his  pictures 
of  '  King  John  granting  Magna  Charta  to  the  Barons,' 
'  Vortigern  and  Eowena,'  and  other  similar  works,  he 
successively  increased  his  celebrity. 

Unfortunately  his  habits  were  dissipated,  and  his  her- 
culean frame  and  handsome  figure  were  shattered  and 
spoiled  by  frequent  over-indulgence  and  excess.  Kepent- 
ing  of  these  misdoings,  he  married,  painted  from  his  own 
experience  4  The  Progress  of  Vice,'  pointed  the  moral  of 
his  own  changed  feelings  in  the  '  Progress  of  Virtue,'  and 
leaving  London  life  and  its  temptations,  went  to  reside  at 
Aylesbury.  Here  he  lived  a  quiet,  sober,  and  even  reli- 
gious life.  He  came  back  to  London  in  November  1778, 
took  up  his  abode  in  Norfolk  Street,  Strand,  and  was 
apparently  in  improved  health  ;  but  on  the  4th  of  February 
following  he  died  from  the  effects  of  a  sudden  and  severe 
attack  of  fever  in  the  38th  year  of  his  age.  Al- 
though he  had  never  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
he  had  been  chosen  an  Associate  in  1778,  and  by  the 
especial  wish  of  the  King  was  to  have  been  raised  to  the 
highest  honours  of  the  Academy,  when  his  career  was  thus 
suddenly  closed.  He  was  buried  by  the  side  of  the  altar 
in  the  church  of  High  Wycombe,  near  the  picture  he 
painted. 

Mortimer  was  not  a  good  colourist,  and  his  portraits 
were  not  pleasing,  although  his  drawings  in  black  and 
white  chalk  were  very  effective.  In  design  he  was  emi- 
nently successful,  both  in  historical,  and  in  wild  fanciful 
subjects.  He  was  especially  celebrated  for  groups  of 
banditti,  the  originals  of  which  were  the  hordes  of  smug- 
glers on  the  coast  near  his  early  home.  His  rapid  power 
of  sketching  made  him  popular  as  an  illustrator  of  books 

B  2 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY       [Cn.  VII. 

and  he  also  designed  '  the  Elevation  of  the  Brazen  Serpent 
in  the  Wilderness,'  for  the  great  window  of  Salisbury 
Cathedral,  and  cartoons  for  the  stained  glass  in  Brasenose 
College,  Oxford.  For  fine  drawing,  ease  and  freedom  of 
touch,  few  of  his  compeers  excelled  him  ;  but  there  was 
extravagance  in  some  of  his  conceptions,  and  many  of  his 
best  designs  were  marred  by  the  cold  dull  colours  with 
which  he  afterwards  clothed  them. 

JAMES  NIXON,  A.E.A,  one  of  the  first  students  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  who  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1778,  was 
a  portrait  and  miniature  painter,  and  exhibited  a  variety 
of  works  in  these  styles  at  the  exhibitions.  He  was  also 
employed  to  paint  many  histrionic  scenes,  which  he  exe- 
cuted in  a  masterly  style  in  oil-colour,  and  to  illustrate 
popular  poems,  &c.  He  was  limner  to  H.E.H.  the 
Prince  Eegent,  and  principal  miniature  painter  to  H.E.H. 
the  Duchess  of  York.  He  died  on  the  9th  of  May,  1812, 
aged  71,  at  Tiverton  in  Devonshire. 

HOBACE  HONE,  A.E.A.,  was  also  a  painter  of  portraits,  in 
oil-colours,  miniature,  and  enamel.  He  had  many  fashion- 
able sitters,  and  was  appointed  miniature  painter  to  the 
Prince  of  "Wales,  retaining  that  situation  when  H.E.H. 
became  Prince  Eegent.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1779,  and  died  in  1825. 

GEORGE  STUBBS,  A.E.A.,  was  famous  as  a  painter  of 
animals,  and  especially  excelled  in  portraits  of  horses  and 
dogs.  He  was  born  at  Liverpool  in  1724,  and  at  the  age 
of  thirty  went  to  Eome  to  study.  He  afterwards  settled  in 
London,  and  steadily  pursued  the  especial  line  of  art  he 
had  chosen.  In  1766,  he  completed  his  work  on  "  the 
Anatomy  of  the  Horse,"  which  was  illustrated  with  plates 
etched  by  himself  after  his  own  designs.  Before  his 
death,  he  published  three  numbers  of  another  work  under 
the  title  of  "  A  Comparative  Anatomical  Exposition  of  the 


CH.  VII.]  STUBBS  —WRIGHT  245 

Structure  of  the  Human  Body  with  that  of  a  Tiger  and  a 
Common  Fowl,"  in  thirty  tables.  Many  of  his  paintings 
were  engraved  by  Woollett,  Earlom,  Green,  and  others. 
Among  these  the  plate  by  Woollett  of  his  '  Spanish 
Pointer,'  is  a  fine  specimen.  Although  Stubbs  was  chiefly 
employed  in  painting  portraits  of  the  most  celebrated 
racehorses  of  his  time,  he  showed  by  his  picture  of 
'  Phaeton  with  the  Horses  of  the  Sun,'  that  his  talents 
were  capable  of  a  higher  exercise.  In  1780  he  became 
an  Associate,  and  was  elected  in  the  following  year  a 
Royal  Academician ;  this  honour,  however,  he  declined. 
He  died  on  the  10th  of  July,  1806. 

JOSEPH  WEIGHT,  A.R.A.,  distinguished  from  others  of  the 
same  name  as  "of  Derby,"  was  the  son  of  an  attorney  of  that 
town,  and  was  born  there  in  1734.  He  came  to  London 
in  1751,  and  became  a  pupil  of  Hudson,  the  portrait 
painter,  at  the  same  time  with  Mortimer.  On  leaving  this 
master  he  returned  to  Derby,  and  commenced  his  career 
as  a  portrait  painter  with  fair  prospects  of  success.  In 
1765,  he  sent  two  pictures  to  the  London  Exhibition  of 
the  Society  of  Artists  ;  and  in  the  following  year  exhibited 
three  pictures  of  fire-pieces  and  candle-light  subjects, 
which  were  much  admired.  In  1773  he  married,  and 
soon  afterwards  set  out  for  Italy,  visiting  Rome  and  other 
places  during  the  interval  between  this  period  and  the 
year  1775,  when  he  returned  home  and  established  him- 
self at  Bath.  While  at  Rome,  he  made  some  drawings 
from  the  frescoes  of  Michael  Angelo  in  the  Sistine  Chapel, 
which  are  said  to  have  preserved  admirably  the  character 
of  the  originals.  In  1777  he  settled  at  Derby,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death  in  1797. 

In  1781  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  but  subsequently  requested  that  his  name 
might  be  erased  from  the  list, — it  is  said  because  Edmund 
Garvey  was  chosen  a  Royal  Academician  before  him.  In 
1785  he  made  an  exhibition  of  his  works  in  a  large  room 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY       [On.  VII. 

in  the  Piazza,  Covent  Garden,  where  he  collected  together 
twenty-four  of  his  pictures,  among  which  were  several 
illustrating  the  effects  of  fire-light,  a  style  of  work  for 
which  he  had  a  great  taste, — the  best  of  these  was  'The 
Destruction  of  the  Floating  Batteries  off  Gibraltar.'  Sub- 
sequently he  occasionaUy  sent  his  works  to  the  Academy 
exhibitions ;  in  his  later  years  he  chiefly  painted  land- 
scapes,— his  last  work  being  'the  Head  of  Ullswater 
Lake,'  a  large  picture  of  great  merit.  His  best  historical 
pieces  are  '  the  Dead  Soldier,'  '  Edwin  at  the  Tomb  of  his 
Ancestors,' '  Belshazzar's  Feast,'  '  Hero  and  Leander,'  '  the 
Lady,'  in  "  Comus,"  and  the  '  Storm  Scene '  in  the  "  Win- 
ter's Tale,"  painted  for  Alderman  Boydell.  His  landscapes 
displayed  equal  excellence  and  great  variety ;  his  Italian 
views,  'Cicero's  Villa,'  and  'Maecenas'  Villa  at  Tivoli,' 
'  the  Eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius,'  and  the  '  Fireworks 
exhibited  from  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  at  Eome,'  exhibit 
the  Wilsonic  effect  which  he  sometimes  produced,  and 
the  effects  of  fire  which  he  so  admirably  rendered.  He 
drew  and  coloured  well,  both  in  figures  and  landscapes ; 
but  his  works  having  been  purchased  from  the  easel  by 
his  own  townsmen,  or  preserved  in  his  family,  are  rare, 
and  little  known  except  by  the  engravings  from  them. 

Two  architects  were  included  among  the  early  Asso- 
ciates. 

EDWAKD  STEVENS,  A.E. A.,  who  was  elected  in  1770  and 
died  in  1775,  and  who  in  the  interval  exhibited  drawings 
from  the  buildings  which  he  designed,  the  Eoyal  Ex- 
change at  Dublin,  and  other  works  of  secondary  impor- 
tance :  and 

JOSEPH  or  GUISEPPE  BOIVTOMI,  A.E.A.,  who  was  born 
at  Eome  in  1739,  and  studied  architecture  in  that  city 
under  the  Marchese  Teodoli.  In  1767  the  Brothers 
Adam  invited  him  to  England,  and  he  was  for  many 


CH.  VH.]  J.  BONOMI  247 

years  employed  by  them.  In  1775  he  married  Eosa 
Florini,  the  cousin  of  Angelica  Kaufftnan,  who,  when  she 
left  England  to  reside  with  her  husband  Zucchi  at  Eome, 
persuaded  Bonomi  also  to  return  to  Italy,  but  he  did  not 
remain  in  that  country  above  a  year,  afterwards  taking 
up  his  abode  at  No.  76  Titchfield  Street^  Oxford  Street. 
In  November  1789  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  but  never  became  a  Eoyal  Academician, 
although,  as  we  have  elsewhere  stated,  it  was  the  strong 
wish  of  the  President  to  raise  him  to  that  rank,  in  order 
that  he  might  succeed  to  the  professorship  of  perspective, 
then  vacant ;  his  failure  in  this  object  led  Eeynolds  for  a 
time  to  resign  the  presidency  of  the  Academy. 

Bonomi's  most  celebrated  work  is  the  splendid  mansion 
at  Eoseneath  in  Dumbartonshire,  erected  for  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  in  1803,  but  left  unfinished.  He  had  previously 
made  additions  to  Langley  Hall  in  Kent  in  1790  ;  designed 
the  chapel  for  the  Spanish  embassy  in  1792 ;  Eastwell 
House  in  Kent,  1793  ;  Longford  Hall,  Salop,  and  Laver- 
stoke,  Hants,  in  1797.  In  1804  he  was  appointed  Hono- 
rary Architect  to  St.  Peter's  at  Eome,  and  made  designs 
for  the  new  sacristy.  He  died  on  the  9th  of  March,  1808. 
Two  of  his  sons  have  attained  to  eminence,  the  eldest  as 
an  architect,  and  another  (Joseph)  as  a  traveller  and 
writer  on  Egyptian  antiquities,  who  has  recently  (March 
1861)  been  elected  Curator  of  the  Soane  Museum  by  the 
President  and  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy. 


Benjamin  West,  P.R^.,  from  the  Portrait  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY  UNDER  THE   PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN 
WEST,    1792—1820. 

Qualifications  of  West  for  the  Office  of  President  —  His  Addresses  —  The 
Fate  of  Proctor  the  Sculptor  —  Publication  of  Bromley's  "  History  of  the 
Fine  Arts"  —  Anthony  Pasquin's  Attacks  on  the  Royal  Academy  —  Royal 
Warrant  for  the  Appointment  of  a  Treasurer  to  succeed  Sir  William  Cham- 
bers—  Finances  of  the  Academy  —  Pension  Fund  established — Dispute 
between  the  General  Assembly  and  the  Council  —  Barry's  Dismissal  from 
the  Office  of  Professor  of  Painting  and  from  the  Academy  —  Grant  towards 
the  Fund  for  the  Exigencies  of  the  State  —  Laws  as  to  Students  amended — 
Award  of  Pensions  to  Widows  of  deceased  Members —  Illness  of  the  King, 
as  it  affected  West,  and  the  Progress  of  the  Arts  —  Temporary  Resignation 
of  the  President —  His  Plan  for  a  National  Association  of  Art —  Artists' 
Volunteer  Corps — Prince  Hoare's  Academic  Annals  and  Foreign  Corre- 
spondence —  Establishment  of  the  (Old)  Water  Colour  Society  and  the 
British  Institution  —  John  Landseer's  Appeal  for  full  Academic  Honours 
for  Engravers —  Varnishing  Days  —  Financial  Arrangements  amended  in 


CH.  VIII.]     WEST'S  QUALIFICATIONS.  FOR  PRESIDENT        249 

1809  —  Complimentary  Presents  made  by  the  Academy  —  Premiums  offered 
by  the  British  Institution  —  The  Commemoration  of  Reynolds,  1813  — 
Waterloo  Memorial  proposed —  Canova's  Visit  to  England  —  Exclusion  of 
G.  H.  Harloioe  from  the  Royal  Academy  —  Privileges  of  Students,  and 
Increase  of  Allowances  to  travelling  Students  —  Pensions  augmented —  Com- 
memoration of  Fiftieth  Anniversary  —  Last  Years  and  Death  of  the  Presi- 
dent —  Changes  among  the  Members  and  Officers  of  the  Academy  —  Its 
Financial  Position  —  The  Exhibitions, 

AMONG  all  the  surviving  founders  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  or  indeed  among  the  younger  artists  who 
had  subsequently  been  elected  to  membership,  none  could 
prefer  so  good  a  claim  to  succeed  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  in 
the  office  of  President,  as  Benjamin  West,  upon  whom 
the  choice  of  his  brethren  fell.  As  an  artist  he  had 
acquired  considerable  fame  ;  he  had  introduced,  by  what 
was  at  the  time  regarded  as  a  daring  innovation,  the 
practice  of  painting  events  in  modern  history  with  the 
characteristics  of  costume  and  place  proper  to  the  occa- 
sion, rather  than  upon  the  classic  models  to  which  all 
previous  artists  had  reverted ;  he  followed  the  highest 
branch  of  art-history,  and  had  obtained  Court  favour  and 
popularity  by  his  productions ;  and  besides  the  claim 
which  his  personal  labours  in  founding  the  Eoyal  Aca- 
demy gave  him  to  succeed  Eeynolds,  he  possessed  those 
peculiar  qualifications  for  the  office  of  President  which 
his  predecessor  so  constantly  displayed,  a  quiet  and 
gentle  temper,  extreme  courtesy  and  forbearance,  and  a 
natural  dignity  of  manner, —  of  some  consideration  in  one 
who  had  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  to  which 
he  was  called. 

To  the  choice  of  the  Academicians,  his  Majesty  gave 
his  ready  sanction,  for  West  had  long  been  a  favourite 
with  the  King,  and  had  engrossed  so  large  a  share  of  his 
patronage  as  to  excite,  it  is  said,  even  the  envy  of  the  late 
President.  On  the  24th  of  March,  1792,  West  delivered 
his  inaugural  address,  in  which  he  spoke  enthusiastically 
both  of  the  condition  and  prospects  of  British  art,  and 
of  the  gracious  patronage  with  which  the  Academy  was 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [Cn.  VIII. 

favoured  by  the  King.  He  referred  to  his  own  elevation 
as  "  the  free  and  unsolicited  choice  with  which  you  have 
called  me  to  fill  this  chair ; "  and  of  the  Academy  he 
said :  — 

"  The  exhibitions  are  of  the  greatest  importance  to  this 
institution,  and  the  institution  is  become  of  great  importance 
to  the  country.  Here  ingenious  youths  are  instructed  in  the 
art  of  design,  and  the  instruction  acquired  in  this  place  has 
spread  itself  through  the  various  manufactures  of  the  country/ 
.  .  .  But  there  is  another  consequence,  of  a  more  exalted  kind  ; 
I  mean  the  cultivating  of  those  higher  excellences  in  refined 
art  which  have  never  failed  to  secure  to  nations,  and  to  the 
individuals  who  have  nourished  them,  an  immortality  of  fame 
which  no  other  circumstances  have  been  equally  able  to  per- 
petuate." 

All  his  subsequent  discourses  were  more  or  less  dis- 
tinguished by  their  simplicity  and  practical  good  sense, 
rather  than  by  any  novel  theories,  or  by  attempts  at 
research  into  the  characteristics  of  ancient  art.  His  aim 
seems  to  have  been  to  urge  the  students  to  seek  for 
knowledge,  and  to  study  their  art  constantly,  in  all  objects 
and  at  any  cost,  and  thus  to  develope  whatever  genius  for 
art  they  might  possess,  and  to  chasten  and  direct  their 
imagination. 

In  his  first  discourse  to  the  students,  10th  December, 
1792,  he  recalled  the  circumstances  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Academy,  and  the  encouragements  which  the  efforts  of 
artists  had  received  from  the  Eoyal  patronage.  Next  he 
remarked  on  the  connection  between  moral  conduct  and 
good  taste,  and  the  necessity  for  Academic  instruction, 
while  admitting  the  advantage  of  freedom  and  nature  in 
study  to  true  genius.  "  In  every  branch  of  art  there  are 
certain  laws  by  which  genius  may  be  chastened,  but  the  cor- 
rections gained  by  attention  to  these  laws  amputate  nothing 
that  is  legitimate,  pure,  and  elegant.  Leaving  these  graces 
untouched,  the  schools  of  art  have  dominion  enough  in 
curbing  what  is  wild,  irregular,  and  absurd."  In  his 


CH.  VIII.]  WEST'S  DISCOURSES  251 

second  discourse,  10th  December,  1794,  he  took  a  more 
scientific  view  of  the  principles  of  the  fine  arts  than  in 
the  first,  recommending  the  drawing  of  the  human  figure  ; 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  the  eye,  accustoming  it 
to  an  accurate  discrimination  of  outline ;  and  the  culti- 
vation of  a  philosophic  spirit,  leading  by  the  study  of 
proportion,  expression,  and  character,  to  the  ideal  of 
beauty.  In  his  discourse  in  1797,  he  drew  a  comparison 
between  the  taste  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  that  of 
modern  tunes  in  painting  and  sculpture,  and  gave  his 
advice  as  to  exact  outline  in  drawing,  light  and  shade, 
colour,  composition,  and  study  from  nature.  In  subsequent 
discourses  he  spoke  on  the  philosophy  of  character  in  art, 
showing  how  it  has  been  attained  by  others  in  ancient 
and  modern  times,  and  reminded  the  students  that 
patronage,  whether  royal  or  general,  could  only  be  ex- 
pected to  follow  what  is  eminently  meritorious. 

Early  in  the  year  following  West's  election,  an  event 
occurred  in  connection  with  the  sad  fate  of  a  young  and 
promising  artist,  which  strikingly  exhibited  the  generous 
disposition  of  the  new  President.  Thomas  Proctor,  who 
had  been  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  had 
gained  the  gold  medal  in  1784,  for  a  historical  painting, 
had  subsequently  attracted  West's  notice  by  a  model  in 
clay,  for  which  he  gained  the  silver  medal,  and  by  some 
classic  compositions  he  had  exhibited  at  the  Academy. 
Unfortunately  he  found  no  patrons,  and  his  best  work, 
4  Diomede  torn  to  pieces  by  Wild  Horses,'  was  returned  to 
him  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  and  was  then  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  disappointment  broken  to  pieces.  Proctor 
disappeared,  and  after  a  time  West,  who  had  previously 
treated  him  with  marked  kindness,  and  had  invited  him 
to  his  house  and  table,  set  on  foot  inquiries  respecting 
him,  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  he  had 
abandoned  his  art  in  despair,  had  been  sleeping  in  a 
garret  by  Clare  Market,  and  living  on  sea-biscuits  and 
water.  West,  at  this  time  President,  at  once  submitted 


252  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [Car.  VIII. 

his  case  to  the  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  pro- 
posed that  Proctor  should  be  sent  to  Italy  as  the  travelling 
student,  and  that  £50  should  be  given  him  to  make 
preparations  for  his  journey.  The  motion  was  unani- 
mously approved,  and  the  poor  sculptor  was  sent  for  the 
next  day  to  dine  with  West,  who  informed  him  of  what 
had  been  done,  and  arranged  that  his  own  son  should 
accompany  him.  The  help  and  the  fair  prospect  both 
came  too  late.  Within  a  week  a  messenger  came  to  the 
President  to  tell  him  that  Proctor  was  no  more  ;  his  con- 
stitution, undermined  by  want  and  mental  distress,  had 
given  way  under  the  revulsion  which  this  bright  future 
had  created  in  his  mind.  The  Academy  in  this  case, 
unfortunately,  was  not  in  time  to  avert  the  calamity  of 
neglect  of  genius  ;  but  in  how  many  other  instances  has 
its  timely  aid  befriended  the  struggling  aspirant,  and 
strengthened  him  until  he  attained  to  independence ! 

The  early  part  of  the  presidentship  of  West  was 
attended  by  several  circumstances  which  could  not  have 
been  otherwise  than  vexatious  to  him,  and  to  many 
members  of  the  Academy.  Some  dissatisfaction  arose  in 
1793,  on  the  publication  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Eev. 
William  Bromley's  "  History  of  the  Fine  Arts,"  in  which 
the  President's  works  were  highlv  extolled,  but  those  of 

<_j       «/  * 

Eeynolds  (so  recently  deceased),  and  Fuseli  (stih1  living), 
were  spoken  of  in  such  disparaging  terms  that  Fuseli 
criticised  the  book  with  great  severity  in  one  of  the  lead- 
ing journals,  and  the  Academicians,  who  had  subscribed 
for  the  work,  refused  to  take  the  second  volume,  which, 
however,  was  never  published.  A  suspicion  arose  that 
West  had  sanctioned  the  publication,  as  he  was  known  to 
be  a  friend  of  the  author,  and  to  have  consulted  him  in 
the  preparation  of  his  lectures :  if  this  supposition  were 
correct,  it  was  certainly  ill-judged,  and  naturally  aroused 
the  angry  feeling  it  occasioned. 

In  the  same  year  (1793)  the  members  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  its 


Cn.  Vm.]  PASQUIN'S   CRITIQUES  258 

foundation,  by  dining  together  at  the  Academy  on  the 
day  of  its  commemoration,  the  10th  December.  These 
social  gatherings  of  the  Academicians  had  charms  which 
the  more  stately  Exhibition  Dinner  could  not  afford.  The 
members  met  to  know  each  other  more  intimately  —  to 
discuss  freely,  as  friends  and  brothers  in  art,  the  prospects 
of  the  institution  of  which  they  formed  a  part,  and  the 
several  matters  in  which  their  individual  sympathies  were 
concerned.  They  sung  songs  (at  least  those  who  could 
do  so),  and  some  of  these  were  composed  expressly  for 
the  occasion  of  their  meetings,  by  such  of  their  number 
as  possessed  the  poet's  skill.  One  of  the  oldest  members 
of  the  Academy,  Paul  Sandby,  was  frequently  in  the  habit 
of  thus  entertaining  his  fellow-academicians  with  some 
verses  referring  with  a  pleasant  humour  and  sometimes 
keen  satire,  to  the  foibles  and  follies  of  the  passing  hour. 

In  the  year  following  the  commemoration  of  the  com- 
pletion of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  the  existence 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  it  was  exposed  to  a  similar 
satirical  attack  to  that  to  which  it  had  been  subjected  by 
Wolcott's  Odes  of  "  Peter  Pindar,"  in  the  publication  of 
a  "Liberal  Critique  on  the  Exhibition  for  1794,"  and 
of  "  Memoirs  of  the  Academicians,  being  an  attempt  to 
improve  the  taste  of  the  realm,  by  Anthony  Pasquin,  Esq.," 
whose  real  name  was  Williams,  and  who,  while  holding 
up  most  of  the  members  of  the  Academy  to  contempt, 
and  ridiculing  their  works,  showed  some  discernment  in 
commending  the  early  works  of  many  others  who  after- 
wards attained  to  especial  excellence.  In  another  work 
by  the  same  author,  "  An  Authentic  History  of  the  Artists 
of  Ireland,"  he  proposed  to  publish  "  original  letters  from 
Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  which  prove  him  to  be  illiterate," 
and  thus  by  insult  to  the  memory  of  one  whose  genius 
was  beyond  dispute,  caused  added  indignation  among  the 
members  of  the  Academy.1 

1  Here  are  some  specimens  of  his      by  Opie,  of  Fusjli,  he  describes  him 
criticisms.     Speaking  of  a  portrait      as  "  one   of  those    ungrateful  and 


254  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [Cn.  VIII. 

Several  important  changes  in  the  mode  of  conducting 
the  affairs  of  the  Academy  were  made  in  the  year  1796. 
The  first  treasurer,  Sir  William  Chambers,  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  John  Yenn,  who  held  the  appointment 
under  the  Eoyal  sign  manual,  a  proof  of  the  interest  which 
King  George  the  Third  still  felt  in  the  Academy,  and  of 
his  desire  to  retain  a  supervision  over  its  funds.  The 
form  of  this  document  is  as  follows : — 

"aEOKOKE  E. 

"  Whereas  we  have  thought  fit  to  nominate  and  appoint  John 
Yenn,  Esq.  (Clerk  of  the  Works  at  the  Queen's  House),  to  be 
Treasurer  to  our  Royal  Academy,  during  our  pleasure,  in  the 
room  of  Sir  William  Chambers,  Knight,  deceased  :  Our  will 
and  pleasure  therefore  is,  that  you  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  unto 
the  said  John  Yenn  all  such  sums  as  shall  appear  necessary  to 
pay  the  debts  contracted  in  the  support  of  the  said  Academy ; 
and  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  to  you  a  sufficient  warrant  and 
discharge.  Given  at  the  Queen's  Palace,  the  31st  day  of  March, 
1796,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  our  reign, 

"  By  his  Majesty's  command. 

(Signed)     "  CARDIGAN." 

"  To  ova  right  trusty  and  well  beloved  Cousin, 
The  Earl  of  Cardigan,  Keeper  of  our  Privy  Purse." 

The  finances  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  were  taken  into 
consideration  in  the  month  of  October  1796,  when  it 
was  found  that  in  the  year  1785  it  was  in  possession  of 
£7900,  three  per  cent,  stock,  and  two  "Marybone 
Bonds  "  of  £100  each.  That  in  the  ten  intervening  years 


indolent  R.  A. 's,  who  leave  their  Aca-  vourite  domestics  who  are  the  saints 
demic  mother  to  be  illumined  and  and  demons  of  his  necessities."  R. 
supported  by  the  striplings  of  the  Westall's  portrait  of  a  young  gentle- 
establishment."  Of  Thomas  Stothard  man  "is  as  puerile  as  the  subject;  " 
he  says,  "whose  education  and  un-  and  his  'Minerva'  "all  legs  and 
derstanding  enable  him  to  rescue  the  thighs,  like  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Ro- 
general  character  of  a  Royal  Acade-  binson."  Lawrence's  portraits  were 
mician  from  the  imputation  of  igno-  "  delicate  but  not  true,  and  attractive 
ranee."  He  speaks  highly  of  Shee's  but  not  admirable."  Such  was  the 
works,  but  condemns  those  of  West,  general  tone  of  his  remarks,  inter- 
observing  that  "the  identity  of  Mr.  mingled  with  much  coarseness  which 
West's  figures  is  so  continually  appa-  cannot  be  repeated  here, 
rent,  that  I  believe  he  has  a  few  fa- 


CH.  VIII.]  PENSION  FUND  255 

there  had  been  an  average  annual  saving  of  £400  per 
annum,  so  that  its  funds  were  increased  to  £13,800,  and 
that  in  none  of  those  years  did  the  expenses  exceed  the 
income,  while  the  solid  fund  was  then  increased  to 
£10,000  stock,  yielding  £300  a-year ;  and  the  charity 
fund  was  augmented  to  £6000.  It  was  therefore  con- 
sidered that  the  interest  of  the  stock  was  sufficient  to 
guard  against  any  probable  deficiency  in  the  income  of 
the  Academy,  and  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  a 
PENSION  FUND  might  be  established. 

The  following  is  the  plan  which  was  adopted  for  this 
purpose  on  the  7th  October,  1796  : — 

"  First. — That  the  savings  of  the  Academy,  after  payment  of 
all  their  annual  and  contingent  expenses,  be  hereafter  applied 
towards  the  increase  of  the  stock  in  the"  3  per  cent.  Consolidated 
Annuities,  which  shall  hereafter  be  called  the  Pension  Fund ; 
and  that  when  the  said  stock  shall  amount  to  £10,000,  the 
Council  shall  have  power  to  give  the  following  pensions,  viz. : 

"  To  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £50  per 
annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual 
income  exceed  £100. 

"  To  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £30  per  annum, 
provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual  income 
exceed  £80. 

"  To  a  widow  of  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding 
£30  per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her 
annual  income  exceed  £80. 

"  To  a  widow  of  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £20 
per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her  annual 
income  exceed  £50. 

"When  the  Fund  shall  be  increased  to  £15,000,  the  Council 
shall  have  power  to  give  the  following  pensions,  viz. : 

"To  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £60  per 
annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual 
income  exceed  £100. 

"To  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £36  per  annum, 
provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual  income 
exceed  £80. 

"  To  a,  widow  of  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

£36  per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her 
annual  income  exceed  £80. 

"  To  a  widow  of  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £25 
per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her  annual 
income  exceed  £50. 

"  When  the  Fund  shall  be  increased  to  £20,000,  the  Council 
shall  have  power  to  give  the  following  pensions,  viz. : 

"To  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £70  per 
annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual 
income  exceed  £100. 

"  To  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £50  per  annum, 
provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  his  annual  income 
exceed  £80. 

"  To  a  widow  of  an  Academician,  a  pension  not  exceeding 
£50  per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her 
annual  income  exceed  £80. 

"  To  a  widow  of  an  Associate,  a  pension  not  exceeding  £30 
per  annum,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  her  annual 
income  exceed  £50." 

For  the  administration  of  the  fund  the  following  rules 
were  ordered  to  be  observed  : — 

"  That  every  Academician,  Associate,  Widow  of  an  Acade- 
mician, and  Widow  of  an  Associate,  who  is  a  claimant  for  a 
pension  from  the  Eoyal  Academy,  shall  produce  such  proofs  as 
the  President  and  Council  may  require  of  their  situation  and 
circumstances ;  and  in  this  examination  the '  President  and 
Council  shall  consider  themselves  as  scrupulously  bound  to 
investigate  each  claim,  and  to  make  proper  discriminations 
between  imprudent  conduct  and  the  unavoidable  failure  of  pro- 
fessional employment  in  the  members  of  the  Society ;  and  also 
to  satisfy  themselves  in  respect  to  the  moral  conduct  of  their 
widows. 

"  That  any  Academician  or  Associate  who  shall  omit  exhibiting 
in  the  Eoyal  Academy  for  two  successive  years  shall  have  no 
claim  on  the  Pension  Fund,  under  any  of  the  regulations  above 
mentioned,  unless  he  can  give  satisfactory  proof  to  the  President 
and  Council  that  such  omission  was  occasioned  by  illness,  age, 
or  any  other  cause  which  they  shall  think  a  reasonable  excuse. 

"That  these  pensions  shall  not  preclude  any  Academician, 
Associate,  or  their  widows,  in  cases  of  particular  distress,  arising 


CH.  VEX]         THE  CATALOGUE  — THE  COINAGE  257 

from  young  children,  or  other  causes,  from  receiving  such 
temporary  relief  as  may  appear  to  the  Council  to  be  necessary 
or  proper  to  be  granted.  But  it  is  to  be  strictly  understood  that 
this  Pension  Fund  shall  on  no  account  be  considered  as  liable 
to  claims  to  relieve  such  difficulties.  All  sums  paid  on  account 
of  claims  of  such  a  nature  shall  be  carried,  as  usual,  to  the 
current  expenses  of  the  year." 

Another  change  proposed  in  the  same  year,  1796, 
related  to  the  Exhibition  Catalogue,  which  it  was  sug- 
gested might  be  printed  more  cheaply  in  octavo,  but  the 
specimen  produced  did  not  give  satisfaction,  and  the  idea 
was  abandoned.  To  reduce  the  bulk  of  the  quarto  cata- 
logue, it  was,  however,  determined  to  print  the  names 
and  addresses  of  the  exhibitors  in  two  columns,  and  in  a 
smaller  type,  and  still  to  continue  the  original  price  of 
sixpence.  This  practice  was  continued  till  1809,  when 
further  alterations  were  made,  which  will  be  noticed 
hereafter. 

In  1798,  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury 
requested  the  assistance  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  regard 
to  the  preparation  of  designs  for  a  new  coinage,  and  a 
committee  from  that  body  was  appointed  to  meet  the 
committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  to  discuss  the  future 
fashioning  of  the  coinage  of  the  realm,  and  to  be  pre- 
pared with  drawings  and  models  for  the  coins  to  be 
substituted  for  those  then  in  use.  On  several  other 
occasions  the  Government  has  applied  for  the  aid  of  the 
Eoyal  Academicians,  to  give  their  advice  and  decision 
in  questions  of  taste,  which  is  a  pleasing  proof  of  the 
estimation  in  which  their  judgment  on  matters  relating 
to  art  is  held. 

The  value  of  the  influence  of  the  Eoyal  Founder  in 
governing  the  Academy,  was  shown  in  1799,  when 
Henry  Tresham,  one  of  its  members,  represented  to  the 
King  that  the  law  prescribed  by  the  fifth  section  of  the 
"  Instrument  of  Institution,"  regulating  the  succession  of 
seats  in  the  Council  by  rotation,  had  been  departed  from, 

VOL.  i.  s 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [On.  VIII. 

the  vacancies  having  been  balloted  for.  A  long  dis- 
cussion followed ;  and  on  the  4th  February,  1800,  the 
President  vindicated  himself,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council, 
against  the  charges  and  the  intemperate  language  used 
by  Mr.  Tresham  in  arguing  the  question ;  but  still  the 
matter  was  left  undecided,  until  his  Majesty  required 
a  return  to  a  strict  obedience  to  the  original  law,  and 
the  printing  annually  of  the  rotation  of  the  Council ;  and 
thus  finally  closed  the  controversy  on  the  subject,  by 
insisting  upon  all  the  members  taking  their  fair  share 
in  the  work  of  governing  the  Academy.  Obedience 
was  at  once  willingly  rendered  to  such  an  authority, 
and  the  question  has  never  since  been  raised. 

The  same  year,  1799,  is  memorable  as  the  one  in 
which  the  long-continued  strife  between  James  Barry 
and  the  Academy  was  brought  to  a  painful  termination. 
One  of  the  earliest  subjects  of  contention,  was  the 
earnestness  and  vehemence  with  which  he  insisted  that 
all  the  surplus  funds  of  the  Academy  should  be  ex- 
pended in  the  purchase  of  pictures  to  form  a  gallery  of 
the  Old  Masters  for  the  use  of  the  pupils,  to  aid  them  in 
design,  composition,  and  colouring ;  and  he  launched 
his  full  power  of  sarcasm  and  invective  against  his 
brethren,  when  they  urged  that  according  to  the  rules 
of  their  institution,  the  funds  could  not  be  so  appro- 
priated, but  must  be  applied  first  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  schools,  and  then  to  the  award  of  pensions  and 
grants  to  artists  or  their  families  who  might  need  such 
assistance.  That  such  a  gallery  -was  desirable  none  could 
deny ;  but  few  could  agree  with  Barry  that  it  fell  within 
the  province  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  to  exhaust  all  its 
means  in  very  imperfectly  attempting  to  form  it.  Since 
his  time  our  National  Gallery  has  been  established ;  but 
even  now,  when  individual  liberality  and  the  Parliament 
have  combined  to  expend  large  sums  upon  the  gathering 
together  of  a  collection  of  pictures,  how  little  has  yet 
been  accomplished  towards  the  formation  of  a  series  of 


CH.  VIII.]  JAMES  BARRY'S  EXPULSION  259 

paintings,  which  would  enable  the  student  of  art  to  trace 
its  history  or  progress,  much  less  to  examine  the  de- 
velopment of  its  practice  in  the  different  continental 
schools. 

This  was  only  one  instance  of  the  many  in  which 
contention,  suspicion,  and  unlicensed  accusation  were 
displayed  by  Barry.  At  one  time  he  was  robbed  of 
£400  by  thieves  who  broke  into  his  house ;  the  next 
morning  he  posted  up  a  placard  to  announce  that  the 
burglary  was  committed  by  the  thirty-nine  Eoyal  Aca- 
demicians who  opposed  him !  He  was  continually  publicly 
condemning  the  President  and  his  brother  artists  ;  and 
when  he  took  advantage  of  his  position  as  Professor  of 
Painting,  to  link  these  personalities  with  the  teaching  of 
the  principles  of  art,  and  to  make  invidious  comparisons 
between  the  works  of  deceased  artists  and  those  of  the 
living  men  among  whom  he  laboured,  it  was  evident 
that  he  sought  rather  to  foster  among  the  students  con- 
tempt for  the  Academicians  than  to  instil  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  theory  and  practice  of  art.  By  thus  abusing 
the  trust  committed  to  him,  he  justly  excited  the  anger 
of  ah1  the  Academic  body,  and  for  this  breach  of  faith 
and  confidence  towards  them,  they  might  properly  have 
expelled  him  from  the  office  of  Professor.  But  after 
Eeynolds  was  dead,  and  Barry  had  with  strange  incon- 
sistency passed  a  glowing  eulogium  on  his  talents,  they 
allowed  him  to  remain  among  them,  even  though  they 
were  perpetually  subjected  to  the  violent  irritability  of 
his  temper.  In  1797,  however,  he  published  "  A  Letter 
to  the  Dilettanti  Society,  respecting  the  obtention  of 
certain  matters  essentially  necessary  for  the  improvement 
of  public  taste,  and  for  accomplishing  the  original  views 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy  of  Great  Britain."  In  this  work, 
after  describing  the  leading  principles  of  national  art — 
the  objects  which  the  Eoyal  Academy  had  been  instituted 
to  accomplish — and  the  purposes  to  which  their  money 
as  well  as  their  energies  ought  to  be  directed, — he  pro- 

8  2 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [On.  VIII. 

ceeded  to  discuss  the  actual  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Academy,  denounced  private  combinations  and  jealousies, 
asserted  that  the  funds  were  dissipated  by  secret  in- 
trigues, and  proposed  that  the  votes  of  the  members 
should  be  taken  on  oath  on  every  occasion  of  importance, 
to  secure  the  honest  and  truthful  expression  of  their 
opinion. 

It  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  the  Academicians 
would  read  without  indignation  such  a  bitter  insult  from 
one  of  their  own  professors.  Farington  read  aloud  at 
a  general  meeting  of  the  members  held  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1799,  Barry's  Letter  to  the  Dilettanti  Society,  and 
information  of  his  personal  irregularities  was  given  by 
Dance  and  Daniell ;  whereupon  the  Keeper,  Wilton  the 
sculptor,  was  directed  to  embody  the  charges  made 
against  him  in  a  resolution,  accusing  him  of  making 
digressions  in  his  lectures,  in  which  he  abused  members 
of  the  Academy,  the  dead  as  well  as  the  living ;  of 
teaching  the  students  habits  of  insubordination,  and 
countenancing  them  in  licentious  and  disorderly  be- 
haviour ;  of  charging  the  Academy  with  voting  in 
pensions  among  themselves,  £16,000,  which  should  have 
been  laid  out  for  the  benefit  of  the  students  ;  and,  finally, 
of  having  spoken  unhandsomely  of  the  President,  Ben- 
jamin West.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  in- 
dignation of  the  moment,  the  Academicians  acted  upon 
these  charges  without  affording  Barry  a  copy  of  them, 
or  the  opportunity  of  explanation.  According  to  the 
statement  he  afterwards  published  as  an  Appendix  to 
his  "  Letter,"  it  would  appear  that  the  ground  on  which 
this  course  was  taken,  "  was  the  admission  imputed  to 
him  of  the  charges,"  but  against  which  he  protested  in  a 
letter  he  addressed  to  Richards  the  Secretary,  on  the 
16th  of  April.  Eight  days  afterwards,  however,  the 
final  decision  was  communicated  to  him  in  the  following 
terms  :  — 


CH.  VIII.  ]  GRANT  IN  AID  OF  THE   STATE  261 

"  April  24th,  1799. 

"Sir,  —  The  General  Assembly  of  Academicians  having  re- 
ceived the  Keport  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  investigate 
your  academical  conduct,  decided  that  you  be  removed  from  the 
office  of  Professor  of  Painting,  and,  by  a  second  vote,  that  you 
be  expelled  the  Royal  Academy. 

"  The  Journals  of  Council,  the  Report  of  the  Committee,  and 
the  Resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly  having  been  laid  before 
the  King,  his  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  approve  the 
whole  of  the  proceedings,  and  to  strike  your  name  from  the  roll 
of  Academicians.  "I  am,  &c., 

"  JOHN  RICHARDS,  R.A.,  Sec. 

"  To  James  Barry,  Royal  Academy." 

Thus  closed  the  vexatious  strife  which  had  so  long 
agitated  the  Academy ;  but  unfortunately  the  angry 
feeling  of  resentment  was  not  extinguished,  although  it 
was  mitigated  as  far  as  Barry  was  concerned,  by  the 
efforts  which  his  friends  made  soon  afterwards  to  save 
him  from  want  in  the  few  remaining  years  of  his  unhappy 
life  of  disappointment. 

The  patriotism  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians  was  illus- 
trated by  a  grant  of  £500  made  by  them  in  1799  to 
the  Government  towards  the  exigencies  of  the  State,  to 
meet  the  heavy  pecuniary  demands  upon  the  public  purse 
arising  out  of  the  prolonged  war  with  France,  the  rebellion 
in  Ireland,  the  contests  in  India,  and  the  recent  suspension 
of  cash  payments  by  the  Bank  of  England.  An  offer  of 
another  £500  towards  the  subscription  for  the  relief  of 
the  sufferers  by  the  war,  was  made  in  1803,  on  the 
renewed  outbreak  of  the  European  war,  but  the  grant  was 
vetoed  by  the  King,  who  while  sensible  of  the  loyal  motive 
which  prompted  the  proposal,  considered  that  it  would 
not  be  for  the  welfare  of  the  Academy  thus  to  divert  its 
resources  from  their  original  purpose. 

In  the  two  succeeding  years,  1800-1,  some  changes 
were  made  in  regard  to  the  students  in  the  schools.  On 
the  first  establishment  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  the  period 


262  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

of  study  was  limited  to  six  years.  In  1792  this  term  was 
extended  to  seven  years ;  and  in  1800  it  was  further 
increased  to  ten  years,  and  the  privilege  was  accorded 
of  an  annual  renewal  of  studentship,  dependent  upon  the 
attention  to  study  previously  given  by  the  applicant. 
This  regulation  continued  in  force  until  1853,  when  the 
term  was  again  reduced  to  seven  years  for  those  students 
who  have  not  obtained  medals,  the  grant  of  which  con- 
stitutes them  students  for  life. 

In  accordance  with  the  resolution  passed  in  1796,  by 
which  it  was  ordered  that  the  payment  of  pensions  should 
commence  when  the  funded  capital  attained  the  sum  of 
£10,000,  the  claims  of  certain  applicants  were  considered 
in  1801,  the  year  in  which  the  capital  reached  the  amount 
specified,  and  five  widows  were  awarded  pensions  in  1802. 
These  were  Mrs.  Barret,  Mrs.  Baker,  Mrs.  Serres,  and 
Mrs.  Hamilton,  widows  of  Eoyal  Academicians,  who 
were  to  receive  £30  per  annum,  each,  and  Mrs.  Haward, 
the  widow  of  an  Associate  Engraver,  £20  per  annum. 
Although  no  law  had  been  acted  upon  prior  to  this  time, 
a  pension  had,  however,  been  awarded  by  the  Academy 
to  Mrs.  Hogarth,  from  1787  to  1789,  at  £40  per  annum, 
out  of  regard  to  the  memory  of  her  famous  husband, 
when  it  was  known  that  in  her  declining  years  such  assist- 
ance would  be  acceptable  to  her.  In  1809  the  pension 
fund  reached  £15,000,  and  the  higher  scale  was  acted 
upon  till  1816,  when  the  fund  having  been  increased  to 
£20,000,  the  highest  rate  of  pension  prescribed  by  the 
law  passed  in  1796  was  thenceforward  awarded.  The 
average  annual  sum  thus  expended  was  about  £190 — 
a  very  small  proportion  of  the  amount  yearly  dispensed 
by  the  Academy  at  that  time  among  artists  and  their 
families  requiring  assistance.  Yet  while  the  Academicians 
have  generally  attained  sufficient  eminence  to  save  them- 
selves and  their  families  from  want,  it  cannot  be  over- 
looked that  in  sickness  or  adversity,  the  consciousness  that 
there  is  such  a  provision  made  to  meet  unavoidable 


CH.  VIII.]  THE  KING'S  ILLNESS  263 

necessity,  has  cheered  many  a  man  of  genius  in  the  dreary 
evening  of  his  life,  and  on  his  dying  bed  has  consoled 
him  with  the  thought  that  his  family  would  not  be  left 
utterly  destitute  when  he  could  no  longer  support  them 
by  the  fruits  of  his  own  labours. 

The  distressing  malady  which  had  at  intervals  since 
1788,  cast  its  shadow  over  the  Eoyal  Founder  of  the 
Academy,  was  felt  as  a  personal  sorrow  by  all  his  loyal 
subjects  ;  and  the  necessary  retirement  of  the  King  at  a 
subsequent  period  from  all  public  duties  was  felt  as  a 
great  loss  to  the  institution  which  had  owed  so  much  of 
its  success  and  prosperity  to  his  support  and  sympathy. 
Artists  lost  a  friend  and  supporter,  as  well  as  a  patron, 
when  King  George  III.  was  no  longer  able  personally  to 
foster  and  encourage  the  arts  and  its  professors ;  and  none 
experienced  this  more  than  the  President.  From  1769 
till  1801,  he  had  always  received  all  orders  for  pictures 
from  his  Majesty  in  person.  But  he  now  received  inti- 
mation by  Mr.  Wyatt,*  the  Eoyal  Architect,  that  the 
pictures  painting  for  the  Chapel  at  Windsor  must  be 
suspended  until  further  orders.  He  wrote  to  the  King  on 
the  26th  September,  1801,  expressing  his  great  concern 
that  the  pictures  on  '  Eevealed  Eeligion '  were  not  to  be 
completed,  and  lamenting  that  such  a  decision  would  be 
alike  ruinous  to  himself,  and  would  damp  the  hope  of 
patronage  in  the  more  refined  departments  of  painting. 
No  answer  was  received,  but  on  subsequently  obtaining  a 
private  audience  of  the  King,  after  his  recovery,  West 
learnt  that  his  Majesty  never  ordered  the  suspension  of 
the  work,  nor  had  he  received  his  letter.  "  Go  on  with 
the  pictures,  West,"  he  said,  "  and  I'll  take  care  of  you." 
Thus  encouraged  West  pursued  the  great  task  he  had 
undertaken,  receiving  £1000  per  annum  till  his  Majesty's 
final  illness,  when  it  was  suddenly  stopped,  and  he  was 
officially  informed  that  the  paintings  must  be  suspended. 
"  He  submitted  in  silence,"  says  his  biographer,  Gait ;  "  he 
neither  remonstrated  nor  complained." 


264  HISTOEY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [On.  VIII. 

There  are  never  wanting  those  who  delight  to  disparage 
a  good  and  great  man,  when  suffering  neglect  or  misfor- 
tune, and  now  that  it  was  known  that  West  no  longer 
retained  his  pre-eminence  at  Court,  a  document  was 
published  representing  that  he  had  received  no  less  than 
£34,187  from  the  King  for  the  works  he  had  executed 
by  his  commands.  But  it  was  not  stated  that  this  was 
the  reward  for  thirty-three  years'  labour ;  and  the  state- 
ment made  by  West  in  reply,  giving  the  details  of  the 
work  done,  and  the  sums  received  from  time  to  time 
during  this  long  period,  removed  the  impression  that  he 
had  unfairly  amassed  a  fortune.  He  was  known  to  be  a 
man  of  such  honour  and  integrity  that  his  explanation  at 
once  silenced  the  ill-natured  reports  circulated  against  him. 

To  show  the  unkindness  of  the  attacks  to  which  West 
at  this  period  of  his  career  was  exposed,  we  print  the  fol- 
lowing statement  which  was  issued  by  authority  in 
answer  to  one  of  them  :  — 

"  Royal  Academy,  Somerset  House, 
"April"  15th,  1803. 

"  The  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  feel  themselves  com- 
pelled to  notice  a  paragraph  in  the  *  Morning  Post '  of  yester- 
day, of  an  unwarrantable  kind,  levelled  at  the  President  and  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy  at  large.  The  circumstances  which  occa- 
sioned the  paragraph  are  as  follows :  —  Mr.  West  sent  for  the 
exhibition  a  historical  painting,  representing  '  Hagar  and 
Ishmael  in  the  Wilderness.'  On  the  first  view  of  the  picture,  a 
member  of  the  Council  expressed  his  opinion  of  its  having  been 
previously  exhibited,  although  the  words  <B.  West,  1803,'  were 
on  the  face  thereof.  The  next  morning  the  same  member, 
having  examined  former  catalogues,  found  that  a  picture  of  the 
same  subject  had  been  exhibited  in  1776.  This  circumstance 
led  to  further  investigation,  and  the  words  <B.  West,  1776,' 
were  observed  in  another  part  of  the  picture,  but  without  any 
obliteration  whatever.  The  Secretary  was  directed  to  com- 
municate the  circumstances  immediately  to  Mr.  West,  in 
writing,  which,  in  the  hurry  of  preparing  for  the  exhibition,  he 
omitted  to  do ;  and  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  first  intimation 
Mr.  West  had  of  the  paragraph  in  question  was  through  the 


CH.  VIII.]  ATTACKS  ON  WEST  265 

medium  of  an  evening  paper  (the  '  Courier '),  sent  to  him  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy  yesterday  evening,  being  the  first  time  his 
health  had  permitted  him  to  attend  since  the  picture  was  sent 
for  the  exhibition. 

"The  newspaper  referred  to  states,  'The  members  of  the 
Council,  indignant  at  the  deception,  regarded  each  other  with 
silent  astonishment.'  This  circumstance  the  Council  positively 
deny.  The  illness  of  the  President  naturally  suggested  itself 
to  the  Council  as  the  cause  of  the  mistake, —  a  mistake  which 
deprives  the  exhibition  of  the  picture,  as  the  usual  practice  of 
the  Academy  expressly  forbids  the  second  exhibition  of  any 
picture  whatever. 

"  It  is  necessary  to  observe  that  Mr.  West  states  that  he  is  in 
the  habit  of  altering  and  repainting  his  pictures,  adding  the 
date  of  the  year  in  which  the  alterations  are  made.  Upon  this 
principle  the  picture  of  *  Hagar  and  Ishmael '  has  been  altered, 
and,  in  a  great  degree,  repainted,  and  the  name  and  year  added. 

(Signed)     "  J.  S.  COPLEY,  Deputy-Chairman 
J.  SOANE 
F.  BOURGEOIS 
J.  M.  W.  TURNER 
C.  Eossi 
O.  HUMPHREY." 

In  1803  an  internal  dispute  in  reference  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Academy,  arose  on  the  question  as  to  the 
right  of  the  Council  to  have  the  entire  direction  and  ma- 
nagement of  all  the  business  of  the  Society, — an  attempt 
having  been  apparently  made  at  that  time  to  transfer  the 
government  from  the  Council  to  the  General  Assembly.1 
The  latter  called  a  meeting  in  March  1803,  to  take  the 
conduct  of  five  members  of  the  Council  (viz.  J.  S.  Copley, 
J.  Wyatt,  J.  Yenn,  J.  Soane  and  F.  Bourgeois)  into  con- 
sideration ;  and  on  the  24th  May  following,  the  Council 
passed  two  resolutions,  denying  that  they  were  responsible 
either  individually  or  collectively  to  the  General  Assembly 


1  See  "A  Concise  Vindication  of  Lyndhurst),  1804;  and  a  "Concise 

the  Five  Members  of  the  Council  of  Review  of  the  Above,"  published  in 

the  Koyal  Academy  Suspended,"  by  the    same  year   by   an  anonymous 

J.    S.    Copley    (the    present    Lord  author. 


260  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [Cn.  VIII. 

for  their  proceedings  in  the  Council,  and  begging  the  Pre- 
sident humbly  to  request  his  Majesty  to  be  pleased  to 
express  his  sentiments  thereon  for  the  future  guidance  of 
the  Royal  Academy.  These  resolutions  were  passed  by 
a  majority  of  the  Council,  but  the  subsequent  meeting  to 
confirm  these  resolutions  was  postponed  by  the  President, 
and  instead  of  it  a  General  Assembly  convened,  who  passed, 
on  the  30th  of  May,  a  resolution  that  the  conduct  of  the 
five  members  above  referred  to  "  in  the  Council  on  24th 
of  May,  1803,  has  rendered  it  expedient  to  suspend,  pro 
tern.,  the  said  members  from  their  functions  as  councillors 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  that  the  President  be  requested 
to  summon  a  general  meeting  on  Friday  next,  3rd  June, 
to  take  into  further  consideration  the  proceedings  of 
Council  on  the  above-mentioned  24th  of  May."  This  pro- 
position was  moved  by  G.  Dance  and  carried ;  but  was 
opposed  by  Wilton,  Eigaud,  P.  Sandby,  Tresham,  Cosway, 
De  Loutherbourg;  and  Beechey,  besides  the  five  members 
of  Council  referred  to,  who  were,  of  course,  also  members 
of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  suspended  members  of  the  Council  appealed  to  the 
King,  and  in  August  two  addresses  were  presented  to  his 
Majesty  from  the  General  Assembly  counter  to  each  other 
— the  one  from  the  majority,  the  other  from  the  minority 
who  opposed  the  carrying  of  the  above  proposition.  His 
Majesty  determined  to  take  the  opinion  of  a  high  legal 
authority  upon  the  subject,  and  afterwards  gave  his  deci- 
sion, which  was  to  the  following  effect :  —  That  the  King 
disapproved  the  conduct  of  the  General  Assembly  in  cen- 
suring and  suspending  the  five  members  of  the  Council, 
viz.  Messrs.  Copley,  Wyatt,  Yenn,  Soane,  and  Bourgeois, 
and  therefore  ordered  and  directed  that  all  the  matters 
relative  to  these  proceedings  should  be  expunged  from 
the  Minutes  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  It  was  also  stated  in 
the  reply  "  that  by  the  laws  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  the 
general  body  had  no  power  to  apply  any  part  of  the  funds 
of  the  Society  without  the  authority  and  consent  of  the 


CH.  VIII.]        COUNCIL  AND  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  267 

Council,  and  that  no  part  of  the  funds  could  be  applied  to 
any  purposes  except  those  of  the  institution,  and  that  the 
King,  therefore,  disapproved  of  the  proposed  donation " 
[of  £500  towards  the  relief  fund  at  Lloyd's].  His  Majesty 
further  signified  his  pleasure  "  that  the  above  order  should 
be  entered  on  record  as  a  future  guide  to  the  conduct  of 
the  general  body  on  similar  occasions." 

Some  further  misunderstanding  and  angry  feeling  arose 
after  this  order  was  given,  and  a  further  reference  was 
made  to  the  King,  who  replied  that  he  wished  the  whole 
transaction  to  be  expunged  from  the  recollection  of  the 
Academy,  as  his  desire  was  to  restore  harmony,  and  to  see 
it  continue  amongst  the  Academicians.  Nor  would  the 
subject  be  revived  by  reference  to  it  even  at  this  distant 
period,  except  to  show  how  ready  the  Eoyal  Founder  of' 
the  Academy  was  to  devote  his  attention  to  its  interest  at 
a  time  when  so  many  other  important  cares  were  pressing 
upon  him,  and  to  demonstrate  the  value  of  that  Eoyal 
protection  to  the  arts  which  King  George  III.  was  first 
pleased  to  bestow  upon  them. 

Shortly  after  these  occurrences,  West  took  advantage  of 
the  peace  of  Amiens  to  visit  Paris,  that  he  might  examine 
the  splendid  works  of  art  which  Napoleon  had  collected 
at  the  Louvre.  On  his  return  to  England  he  fancied  that 
he  was  received  coldly  because  he  had  expressed  his 
admiration  for  the  great  man  who  was  soon  to  be  the 
French  emperor,  and  had  accepted  the  honourable  recep- 
tion given  to  him  by  French  statesmen  ;  added  to  which 
he  found  himself  exposed  to  opposition  within  the  Eoyal 
Academy ;  he  therefore  determined  to  vacate  the  Presi- 
dent's chair.  At  the  annual  election  on  the  10th  of 
December,  1804,  when  thirty  Academicians  were  present, 
only  twenty  votes  were  given  for  him  as  President,  seven 
for  Wyatt,  and  three  blanks.  In  the  letter  he  wrote  ten- 
dering his  resignation,  dated  November  1805,  he  first 
referred  to  the  fact  of  his  being  the  only  survivor  of  the 
four  artists  who  applied  to  the  King  to  found  the  Eoyal 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY      [On.  VIII. 

Academy,  and  reminded  the  members  that  for  thirty-seven 
years  he  had  never  failed  to  exhibit  his  pictures  there, 
and  that  during  fourteen  years  he  had  done  his  best  to 
fulfil  the  duties  of  President ;  "  but  whatever  may  have 
been  my  exertions  or  whatever  my  wishes  for  the  welfare 
of  the  institution,  the  occurrences  which  took  place  on 
the  10th  of  December  last,  and  subsequent  circumstances, 
have  determined  me  to  withdraw  from  the  situation  of 
President  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  I  shall  return  to  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  my  profession."  The  Academicians 
were  evidently  only  momentarily  displeased,  or  divided  in 
their  choice.  The  Court  Architect,  James  Wyatt,  was 
elected  to  fill  the  office  of  President  on  the  10th  of  Decem- 
ber following,  when,  however,  only  seventeen  out  of  the 
forty  Academicians  attended  the  assembly  to  give  their 
votes.  But  the  members  soon  repented  of  the  course  they 
had  taken  in  the  heat  of  a  passing  controversy,  and  the 
next  year  they  wisely  restored  West  to  the  office  he  so 
worthily  filled,  by  a  vote  which  may  be  considered  unani- 
mous, since  the  only  dissenting  voice  was  that  of  Fuseli, 
who,  in  his  usual  sarcastic  manner,  admitted  that  he  had 
voted  for  Mrs.  Moser,  as  he  thought  one  old  woman  as 
good  as  another ! 

West,  as  soon  as  all  these  matters  were  finally  set  at 
rest,  next  endeavoured  to  form  "  a  National  Association 
for  the  encouragement  of  works  of  dignity  and  impor- 
tance in  art ;  "  and  during  his  first  visit  to  the  Continent 
he  had  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  several  of  the  great 
political  leaders  of  the  day  in  his  design.  But  unfor- 
tunately the  times  were  adverse  to  the  fulfilment  of  such 
a  purpose.  War  was  again  raging,  and  there  was  little 
money,  public  or  private,  available  for  the  patronage  of 
art  on  a  grand  scale.  Pitt  to  whom  West  first  applied 
for  support  in  the  plan,  seemed  ready  to  do  what  he 
could  to  promote  it,  but  was  removed  by  death ;  Fox 
and  Perceval  were  successively  applied  to,  but  they, 
too,  quickly  passed  away,  and  the  project  was  therefore 


CH.  VIII.]  HOAEE'S  ACADEMIC  ANNALS  269 

abandoned,  although  it  acted  as  a  germ,  out  of  which  by 
other  means,  an  institution  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature 
to  that  proposed  was  soon  to  spring. 

On  the  renewal  of  the  war  in  1803,  several  plans 
were  started  for  the  formation  of  Volunteer  Corps  for 
the  defence  of  the  country.  An  offer  was  made  by  the 
Society  of  Engravers  to  unite  with  the  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  the  formation  of  an  Artists'  Corps. 
On  this  occasion,  in  July  and  August,  consultations  took 
place  between  the  Eoyal  Academicians  and  the  Associates 
to  consider  the  proposition,  but  it  was  eventually  de- 
clined, on  account  of  the  difficulties  which  would  have 
attended  the  practical  working  of  the  plan.  This  is  the 
only  occasion  since  the  foundation  of  the  Academy,  in 
which  the  Eoyal  Academicians  and  the  Associates  have 
met  together  in  council  for  deliberation  on  any  subject 
in  which  they  were  mutually  interested. 

Mr.  Prince  Hoare,  on  his  appointment  as  Foreign 
Secretary  to  the  Academy  in  1799,  had  opened  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  different  academies  of  Europe,  with 
a  view  to  obtain  a  general  knowledge  of  the  then  state 
of  the  fine  arts  in  those  countries,  as  well  as  to  learn 
the  particular  degrees  of  their  respective  encouragement 
and  cultivation.  The  result  of  his  first  efforts  was  pub- 
lished in  a  small  quarto  pamphlet  of  forty-eight  pages, 
entitled,  "  Extracts  from  a  Correspondence  with  the  Aca- 
demies of  Vienna  and  St.  Petersburg  on  the  Cultivation 
of  the  Arts,  1802."  A  second  portion  was  published  in 
1804,  containing  the  further  correspondence  with  the 
same  foreign  academies,  a  summary  of  the  transactions  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy  during  the  preceding  year,  and  a 
description  of  the  public  monuments  erected  by  order  of 
the  Parliament  to  the  naval  and  military  heroes  who  had 
fallen  in  the  war,  which  were  executed  by  Banks,  Flax- 
man,  Bacon,  and  Westmacott.  The  unpropitious  circum- 
stances of  the  times  hindered  him  from  obtaining  similar 
information  to  that  he  had  previously  collected  from 


270  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

other  foreign  countries,  and  afterwards  compelled  him 
to  discontinue  even  the  correspondence  which  had  been 
commenced  with  Eussia  and  Austria.  But  he  continued, 
under  the  title  of  "  Academic  Annals  published  by 
authority  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,"  to  give,  from  1805  to 
1809,  an  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  institution, 
an  outline  of  the  lectures  and  addresses  delivered,  details 
respecting  the  exhibitions,  &c.,  which  are  still  interesting. 
At  that  time  six  weeks  seem  to  have  been  the  usual 
period  during  which  the  exhibition  was  kept  open, 
since  he  mentions  its  prolongation  to  seven  weeks  in 
1805,  as  an  unusual  occurrence.  Among  other  details 
he  records  that  the  exhibition  of  1801  contained  1037 
works  of  art,  of  which  800  were  portraits,  landscapes, 
and  picturesque  drawings,  about  40  historical  pictures, 
and  200  sculptures  and  architectural  designs.  In  the 
same  year  Flaxman  and  Banks  were  instructed  by  the 
Eoyal  Academy  to  attend  the  sale  of  the  valuable  casts 
belonging  to  Eoniney  the  painter,  who  had  imported 
them  from  Italy,  and  they  purchased  nineteen  different 
works,  among  them  the  celebrated  '  Torso '  by  Gaddi. 
In  July  1802,  Canova  offered  to  present  a  cast  of  his 
statue  of  a  '  pugillatore '  to  the  Academy,  which  was 
thankfully  accepted;  and  in  December  1805,  a  corre- 
spondence took  place  between  the  Academy  and  the 
Treasury  respecting  the  erection  of  monuments  in  St. 
Paul's  and  Westminster  Abbey  to  Nelson  and  others, — 
the  competition  for  which  was  not  to  be  confined  to 
members  of  the  Academy,  but  it  was  wished  that  a 
committee  should  be  appointed  by  them  to  determine 
on  the  general  character  of  the  monuments,  and  the 
most  proper  situations  for  them.  Accordingly  a  com- 
mittee was  formed,  consisting  of  Mr.  Wyatt  (then  acting 
as  President),  two  sculptors  (Nollekens  and  Flaxman),  two 
architects  (Yenn  and  Soane),  and  two  painters  (Cosway 
and  Stothard). 

The  Eoyal  Academy  had  been  for  several  years  the 


CH.  Vin.]  WATER-COLOUR  SOCIETY  271 

only  art-society  in  England,  and  its  exhibition  the  only 
source  of  attraction  for  lovers  of  pictures — the  old  Free 
Society  of  Artists  having  held  its  last  exhibition  in  1779, 
and  the  Society  of  Artists  (out  of  which  the  Academy 
arose)  having  appeared  for  the  last  time  before  the 
public  in  1791,  by  making  an  exhibition  at  Spring 
Gardens.  It  was  now  no  longer  to  stand  alone,  for  in 
1805  two  important  auxiliary  (not  rival)  institutions  rose 
into  existence — the  one,  the  society  now  known  as  the 
"  Old  Society  of  Painters  in  Water  Colours," — the  other, 
"  The  British  Institution."  The  first  of  these  originated 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  water-colour  painters  felt 
that  their  works,  when  contrasted  with  the  richness  and 
depth  of  oil-paintings  (as  they  must  have  been  in  the 
only  exhibition — the  Eoyal  Academy — then  open  for 
their  display),  assumed  an  air  of  poverty  and  thinness, 
especially  as  they  had  not  at  that  time  advanced  to  that 
solidity  and  richness  in  colouring,  which  have  now  been 
attained  in  that  medium.  Meetings  were  held  at  the 
rooms  of  Mr.  SheUey,  a  miniature  painter,  to  discuss  a 
plan  for  an  exhibition  to  consist  wholly  of  water-colour 
paintings,  and  exclusively  of  works  of  members.  The 
founders  were  G.  Barrett,  J.  Cristall,  W.  J.  Gilpin, 
J.  Glover,  W.  Havell,  E.  Hills,  J.  Holworthy,  J.  0. 
Nattes,  F.  Nicholson,  W.  H.  Pyne,  S.  Eigaud,  S.  Shelley, 
J.  and  0.  Varley,  and  W.  F.  Wells.  Then-  first  exhibi- 
tion was  opened  on  the  22nd  of  April,  1805,  at  the 
rooms  in  Lower  Brook  Street,  Grosvenor  Square,  built 
by  Vandergutch  the  engraver.  The  founder  of  the 
English  school  of  water-colour  painting — Paul  Sandby — 
was  not  of  the  number,  for  he  was  then  advanced  in  years, 
and  was,  as  a  Eoyal  Academician,  bound  to  contribute 
to  its  exhibitions  ;  Girtin,  who  followed  him,  improving 
the  old  method,  died  while  still  young  a  few  years  before  ; 
and  Turner,  who  so  greatly  advanced  the  infant  art,  had 
become  a  member  of  the  Academy,  and  was  at  that 
time  devoting  all  his  energies  to  painting  in  oil.  The 


272  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY      [On.  VIII. 

success  of  the  society  was  nevertheless  sure,  and  its  ex- 
hibitions were  subsequently  removed  to  Bond  Street,  then 
to  Spring  Gardens,  and  finally  to  the  rooms  in  Pall-Mall 
East,  which  it  now  occupies. 

The  British  Institution, — an  offspring  of  the  plan  of 
West  two  years  before — owed  its  foundation  partly  to 
the  President's  fruitless  efforts,  partly  to  Shee's  "  Ehymes 
on  Art,"  and  to  his  correspondence  with  Sir  Thomas 
Bernard,  an  ardent  and  sincere  friend  of  the  arts,  who 
with  some  noblemen  and  gentry  who  met  at  the  Thatched 
House  Tavern,  in  St.  James's  Street,  decided  on  convening 
a  public  meeting  of  the  friends  of  art  to  arrange  the  plan 
of  the  proposed  institution.  Several  discussions  quickly 
followed,  and  the  body  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of  the 
highest  rank  who  became  the  founders,  agreed  to  collect 
together  yearly,  without  respect  to  names  or  invidious 
distinctions,  as  many  of  the  best  productions  of  the  English 
school  as  they  could  display  for  sale,  and  occasionally  to 
reward  the  best  works  exhibited  by  premiums  of  merit. 
They  desired  to  exhibit  chiefly  works  of  a  historical  and 
poetic  character,  landscapes,  &c.,  and  excluded  all  mere 
portraiture  ;  at  a  later  period  (1813)  they  determined  to 
lend  their  own  best  pictures  by  the  old  masters  for  the 
study  of  the  artists  and  for  exhibition  to  the  public  ;  and 
to  carry  out  this  laudable  object  the  founders  subscribed 
£7939,  purchased  Alderman  Boydell's  Shakspeare  Gallery 
in  Pall-Mall  for  their  exhibition-room,  and  there  on  the 
18th  of  January,  1806,  opened  the  first  exhibition  of  the 
British  Institution  to  the  public.  When  it  was  first  pro- 
posed to  the  King  to  sanction  its  establishment  by  extend- 
ing his  patronage  to  it,  he  made  some  objection  to  doing 
so,  conceiving  that  it  was  likely  to  interfere  with  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  which  he  not  unnaturally  regarded  with 
the  partiality  of  a  parent.  But  on  West  explaining  that 
the  two  institutions  were  very  different  in  their  objects — 
the  Academy  being  founded  for  the  instruction  of  pupils, 
and  the  other  for  the  encouragement  of  artists  arrived  at 


CH.  VIIL]  THE  BRITISH  INSTITUTION  273 

maturity  in  their  profession,  his  Majesty  at  once  assented  to 
receive  the  deputation  from  the  British  Institution  which 
came  to  solicit  his  patronage.  To  prove  that  no  opposition 
to  any  existing  society  for  promoting  the  fine  arts  was  in- 
tended, a  law  was  passed,  declaring  "  that  the  British  Institu- 
tion being  intended  to  promote  the  extension,  and  increase 
the  beneficial  effects  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  founded  by  King 
George  HE.,  and  by  no  means  to  interfere  with  it  in  any 
respect,  a  favourable  attention  would  be  paid  to  such  pic- 
tures as  have  been  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,"  and 
it  was  further  resolved  that  the  exhibition  of  new  works 
(now  known  as  the  Spring  Exhibition)  should  terminate 
on  the  opening  of  that  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  the  works 
of  old  masters,  which  could  not  interfere  with  it,  being 
held  in  the  summer  months.  The  school  of  the  British 
Institution  was  supplemental  to  that  of  the  Academy,  and 
was  formed  by  obtaining  the  loan  of  good  pictures  by  old 
masters,  to  be  copied  by  the  students.  It  was  obviously 
not  in  the  power  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  to  form  such  a 
collection  of  paintings  as  would  have  been  necessary  for 
this  purpose,  and  there  was  not  then,  as  now,  a  National 
Gallery,  to  afford  examples  for  imitation.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  British  Institution,  which  has  expended  a  large 
sum  on  premiums  to  the  best  artists  who  exhibited  their 
works  there,  and  in  the  purchase  of  pictures  for  the  na- 
tional collection,  do  not,  however,  belong  to  this  history, 
except  so  far  as  they  may  affect  the  Academy  or  its  members. 
In  August  1807,  John  Landseer  the  engraver  (who  had 
in  the  previous  year  been  elected  an  Associate  Engraver), 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  President,  Council,  and  members 
of  the  Academy,  setting  forth  the  national  importance  of 
the  art  of  engraving,  and  urging  the  claims  of  engravers 
to  be  admitted  to  the  higher  honours  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy.  This  he  did  in  a  very  calm  and  sensible  way, 
and  finally  submitted  three  measures  which  appeared  to 
him  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  his  art.  The  first  pro- 
posal was,  that  as  it  had  been  the  general  custom  to  elect 

VOL.  I.  T 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VHI. 

certain  proportionate  numbers  of  painters,  sculptors,  and 
architects,  as  Eoyal  Academicians,  it  would  not  be  dispro- 
portionate "if  the  Academy  were  to  enact  that  four 
engravers  should  be  engrafted,  so  as  either  to  constitute 
part  of  the  forty,  or  be  added  to  the  number" — thus 
placing  engraving,  in  point  of  relative  importance  to  art, 
in  the  aggregate  as  four  to  forty  or  forty-four.  The  second 
suggestion  was,  that  there  should  be  a  Professor  of 
Engraving,  "  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  ascertain  and 
explain  to  the  students  in  engraving,  the  existing,  and  as 
far  as  may  be,  the  possible  analogies  between  their  art 
and  that  of  painting ; "  and  the  third  point  was,  that  a 
room  or  a  side  of  a  room,  might  be  allotted  at  the  annual 
exhibition,  for  the  display  of  unpublished  or  recently 
published  prints  of  merit,  so  that  they  might  '-not  be 
eclipsed  in  the  public  notice  by  being  mixed  with  large 
pictures."  The  several  proposals  thus  made  were  not 
favourably  entertained  by  the  Academy  at  the  time,  and 
in  the  long  interval  which  elapsed  before  the  establish- 
ment of  the  new  order  of  Academician  Engravers  in 
1855,  engravers  made  many  efforts  to  have  their  claims 
to  a  higher  grade  than  that  of  Associates  recognised. 
Thus  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Prince  Eegent  in 
1812,  and  another  to  Parliament  on  the  subject  in  1826, 
the  latter  being  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Arts  and 
Manufactures ;  and  in  1837  the  engravers  memorialised 
King  William  IV. ;  but  on  each  occasion  the  answer  was 
adverse  to  their  claims.1 

Several  details  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Academy  underwent  revision  in  the  year  1809.  It 'was 
in  this  year  that  the  "  varnishing  days  "  were  appointed, 
whereby  the  members  of  the  Academy  were  granted  the 
privilege  of  retouching  and  varnishing  their  pictures  after 


1  A  full  account  of  the  discussion  part  in  advocating  the  claims  of  en- 

on  this   subject  will  be    found  in  gravers  to  admission  to  the  rank  of 

"  The  Patronage  of  British  Art,"  by  Royal  Academicians. 
John  Pye,  who   took   a  prominent 


CH.  VIIL]  "VARNISHING  DAYS"  275 

they  were  hung,  and  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  exhi- 
bition. This  practice  prevailed  till  1852,  when  it  was 
discontinued,  many  of  the  members  being  willing  to  sur- 
render an  advantage  which  could  not  be  extended  to  all 
the  exhibitors.  One  reason  assigned  for  its  continuance 
was,  that  the  works  of  Turner  especiaUy  gained  so 
wondrously  by  his  labours  on  the  varnishing  days,  that  it 
would  have  operated  most  injuriously  on  his  pictures 
to  have  withheld  the  privilege.  Leslie,  in  his  "Auto- 
biographical Eecollections,"  says,  "  I  believe  had  the 
varnishing  days  been  abolished  while  Turner  lived,  it 
would  almost  have  broken  his  heart.  He  said,  '  You  will 
do  away  with  the  only  social  meetings  we  have,'  and  he 
painted  all  the  effects  of  his  pictures  on  those  occasions." 
The  broad  light  of  the  exhibition-room  may  probably 
discover  some  defects,  and  contrast  with  other  works  may 
enable  the  artist  to  discern  want  of  tone  and  finish  in  his 
pictures,  which  were  unnoticed  in  the  comparative  ob- 
scurity of  his  own  studio  ;  hence  many  works  would  no 
doubt  be  greatly  improved  by  the  process,  although  in 
others  it  was  not  only  unnecessary,  but  was  sometimes 
carried  to  excess,  in  the  endeavour  to  attain  what  artists 
term  the  "  exhibition  pitch  "  of  effect. 

In  August  1809,  George  Dance  and  Joseph  Farington, 
the  auditors  of  the  accounts  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
presented  to  the  President  and  Council  a  report  of  its 
income  and  expenditure,  in  which  they  recommended 
certain  regulations  to  increase  the  one  and  diminish  the 
other.  They  represented  that  the  £26,000  stock  produced 
an  annual  income  of  £702,  and  the  exhibition  an  average 
of  £2196,  giving  a  total  of  £2898.  That  the  expen- 
diture of  the  three  preceding  years,  exclusive  of  the 
expense  of  the  exhibition,  was  £2392  10s.,  and  that 
there  was  therefore  a  probable  saving  of  £505  10s., 
which,  if  invested,  would  in  ten  years  raise  the  permanent 
income  of  the  Academy  from  its  fund  to  £1000.  To 
effect  this  object  they  proposed  three  modes  of  retrench- 

T   2 


276  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

ment  —  the  expenses  of  the  exhibition,  the  cost  of  the 
tavern  dinners  on  the  King's  and  Queen's  birthdays,  and 
the  amount  of  donations  over  and  above  the  pension  list. 

To  attain  the  first  of  these  objects  it  was  proposed  that 
the  number  of  persons  invited  to  the  exhibition  dinner 
should  not  exceed  150,  including  all  the  members  of  the 
Academy,  and  that  these  should  not  be  selected  by  the 
influence  of  private  friendship,  or  by  yielding  to  the 
importunity  of  acquaintances,  but  should,  as  originally 
intended,  consist  of  the  highest  orders  of  society,  and  the 
most  distinguished  characters  and  patrons  of  art.  Next, 
that  the  price  of  the  catalogue  should  be  raised  from 
sixpence  to  one  shilling  —  a  change  which  the  auditors 
stated  was  justified  by  the  price  of  paper  at  that  time,  and 
by  the  fact  that  there  were  scarcely  any  sales  of  pictures 
or  books  at  which  the  catalogues  were  sold  for  less  than 
one  shilling.  The  saving  thus  effected  was  estimated  at 
£700.  Further,  they  recommended  that  the  expense  of 
the  tavern  dinners  on  the  birthdays  of  the  King  and 
Queen  should  be  borne  by  those  who  were  present  at 
those  entertainments  —  thus  saving  £112  annually  to  the 
Academy  ;  and,  finally,  it  was  proposed,  as  £500  per 
annum  had  been  expended  in  charity  during  the  last  three 
years,  to  add  no  new  names  to  the  donation  list  until  the 
sum  was  reduced  to  the  limit  of  the  income  derivable 
from  the  fund  applicable  for  such  purposes. 

These  recommendations  were  acted  upon,  and  proved 
of  great  advantage  to  the  Academy  in  augmenting  its 
permanent  income.  In  recognition  of  the  services  of 
the  auditors  on  this  occasion,  the  Council  in  the  same  year 
voted  £50  for  plate,  or  otherwise,  both  to  Farington  and 
Dance.  Several  previous  instances  are  recorded  of  com- 
plimentary presents  having  been  made  by  the  Academy 
to  members  or  others  who  had  rendered  especial  ser- 
vice to  it.  A  silver  cup  was  awarded  in  1769  to  J.  B. 
Cipriani,  for  his  beautiful  design  for  the  diploma  ;  another 
to  F.  M.  Newton,  when  he  resigned  the  appointment  of 


CH.  VIII.]  COMPLIMENTAEY  PRESENTS  277 

Secretary,  which  he  had  held  from  1768  to  1788;  a 
similar  mark  of  esteem  was  given  to  George  Dance  and 
Wm.  Tyler  in  1799,  when  they  completed  the  inves- 
tigation of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  Academy  up  to  that 
date  ;  a  silver  cup  was  also  voted  in  the  same  year  to 
Miss  Margaret  Gainsborough,  who  had  presented  to  the 
Eoyal  Academy  a  portrait  by  Thomas  Gainsborough,  and 
who  subsequently  also  gave  his  own  portrait  painted  by 
himself.  In  1809  a  similar  gift  was  made,  for  the  reason 
already  stated,  to  Farington  and  Dance  ;  and  in  1810  a 
present  of  twenty  guineas  was  made  to  J.  F.  Eigaud,  E.A., 
who  was  acting  in  that  year  as  Deputy-Librarian. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  accession  of  George  III. 
was  celebrated  in  November  1809,  by  the  presentation 
of  an  address  to  the  King,  and  by  the  Academicians 
dining  together,  at  their  own  individual  expense,  in  the 
Council  Chamber  of  the  Academy  at  Somerset  House, 
which  was  illuminated  on  the  occasion.  In  1810  the 
Professorship  of  Sculpture  was  instituted,  John  Flaxman 
being  the  first  to  occupy  the  chair,  than  whom  none  was 
better  qualified  for  the  office,  which  he  held  for  sixteen 
years  from  this  time  with  so  much  distinction  to  himself 
and  advantage  to  the  students  in  sculpture. 

This  period  was  not  a  favourable  one  for  the  promotion 
or  encouragement  of  art.  The  Peninsular  war,  while  it 
engrossed  chief  attention,  also  absorbed  all  the  superfluous 
resources  even  of  the  wealthy ;  yet  the  President  endea- 
voured to  encourage  the  professors  of  the  arts  in  the  midst 
of  the  gloom,  by  the  hope  of  Eoyal  favour  being  at  some 
more  propitious  season  extended  to  them.  Thus,  in  his  dis- 
course on  10th  December,  1811,  he  said,  "  But,  gentlemen, 
let  us  not  despair ;  we  have  heard  from  this  place  of  the 
promise  of  patronage  from  the  Prince  Eegent  —  the  pro- 
pitious light  of  a  morning  that  will  open  into  perfect  day, 
invigorating  the  growth  of  all  around;  the  assurance  of  a 
new  era  in  the  elevation  of  the  fine  arts  in  the  United  King- 
dom." His  discourse  on  this  occasion  referred  especially  to 


278  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

historical  painting,  and  contained  remarks  on  the  works  of 
Michael  Angelo,  Eaphael,  Leonardi  de  Vinci,  Titian,  and 
others.  In  speaking  of  the  British  Institution,  he  described 
it  as  "  another  honourable  establishment  sanctioned  by 
his  Majesty  for  promoting  the  fine  arts  which  has  been 
created,  composed  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen  whose 
known  zeal  for  the  success  of  refined  art  is  so  conspicuous, 
and  honourable  to  themselves." 

Meanwhile,  the  British  Institution  was  offering  pre- 
miums of  considerable  value  as  prizes  for  compositions  on 
specified  subjects,  and  for  the  best  works  in  their  exhi- 
bitions. Between  1807  and  1826,  about  £7000  was 
thus  awarded — £1000  being  given  in  1807,  to  J.  Pocock, 
for  his  picture  of  '  Thomas  a  Becket,'  and  1000  guineas 
in  1817,  to  James  Ward,  E.A.,  for  an  allegory  of  'The 
Battle  of  Waterloo.'  Among  the  other  recipients  of 
premiums  varying  from  50  to  300  guineas,  were 
G.  Dance,  E.A.,  B.  E.  Haydon,  W.  Hilton,  E.A.,  G.  Dawe, 
E.A.,  E.  Bird,  E.A.,  C.  L.  Eastlake,E.A.,  H.  Howard,  E.A., 
A.  Cooper,  E.A.,  G.  Jones,  E.A.,  E.  Landseer,  E.A.,  John 
Martin,  and  other  artists  of  distinction.  Sometimes  the 
directors  purchased  works  from  the  artist,  and  generously 
gave  them  at  a  later  period  to  the  National  Gallery. 
Thus  for  West's  picture  of  '  Christ  healing  the  Sick,'  they 
gave  3000  guineas,  and  1800  guineas  to  Charles  Heath, 
for  engraving  it.  Hilton  received  from  them  550  guineas 
for  the  '  Magdalen  washing  the  Feet  of  Christ,'  and  in 
1825,  a  thousand  guineas  for  his  picture  of  '  Christ 
crowned  with  Thorns.'  Their  liberality  was  further  ex- 
hibited by  the  purchase  for  1050  guineas,  of  a  landscape 
by  Gainsborough  (for  which  he  only  received  20  guineas 
originally),  and  of  the  '  Holy  Family,'  by  Sir  J.  Eeynolds, 
for  1900  guineas.  These,  with  two  works  by  Paulo 
Veronese  and  Parmegiano,  costing  5000  guineas,  are  also 
now  in  the  National  collection. 

Besides  this  liberal  patronage,  the  Governors  of  the 
British  Institution  determined  upon  a  plan  for  organising 


CH.  VIII.]         COMMEMOKATION  OF  EEYNOLDS  279 

a  festival  in  honour  of  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds.  This  happy 
idea  was  first  suggested  by  a  lover  of  the  arts  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  dinner  in  1 8 1 1 .  It  was  warmly  applauded 
by  the  Prince  Eegent,  who  was  present,  and  who  offered 
to  contribute  several  works  by  the  late  President  in  his 
own  possession.  This  "  commemoration  of  Eeynolds  " 
took  place  in  1813,  when  113  of  his  works  were  gathered 
together  for  exhibition  to  the  public,  and  included  some 
of  his  finest  productions.  It  was  inaugurated  by  a  banquet 
at  Willis's  Eooms,  at  which  the  Prince  Eegent  was  present, 
and  at  which  all  who  were  distinguished  in  position  and 
associated  with  the  encouragement  of  the  arts,  were 
specially  invited  to  attend.  This  was  the  first  public 
exhibition  of  the  works  of  any  individual  British  artist, 
and  was  a  great  treat  to  the  lovers  of  English  art  who 
were  thus  able  to  judge  of  the  skill  and  taste  of  Eeynolds, 
not  only  in  portraiture,  but  in  historical  composition, 
combined  with  colour  and  effect.  So  attractive  was  this 
assemblage  of  the  works  of  a  single  artist  of  eminence, 
that  in  the  following  year  the  idea  was  further  extended 
by  forming  a  collection  of  the  works  of  Hogarth,  Zoffany, 
Wilson,  and  Gainsborough  ;  and  again  in  1817  by  the 
exhibition  of  a  mixed  assemblage  of  works  of  deceased 
British  artists. 

After  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  it  was  proposed  by  the 
Government  to  expend  £500,000  upon  a  national  memo- 
rial of  the  victory,  which  should  be  illustrated  by  the  three 
decorative  arts — painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture, 
and  a  communication  was  made  to  the  Eoyal  Academy 
with  a  view  to  some  plan  being  arranged  for  carrying  out 
the  idea.  A  letter,  written  by  West  to  Sir  George 
Beaumont,  dated  from  Cowes,  30th  September,  1815, 
acknowledges  the  receipt  of  his  communication  announcing 
that  the  Treasury  had  intimated  the  commands  of  the 
Prince  Eegent  that  measures  be  taken  forthwith  for  the 
erection  of  a  monument  to  commemorate  the  victory  of 
Waterloo  in  pursuance  of  an  address  of  the  House  of 


280  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

Commons,  and  gives  his  own  suggestions  as  to  the  mode 
in  which  it  should  be  constructed.  A  column  had  been 
proposed,  but  West  thought  such  a  victory  demanded  a 
building  of  greater  magnitude  and  more  national  impor- 
tance. He  proposed  one  as  follows  :  "  Its  base  a  square 
of  sixty  feet  and  its  height  thirty  ;  from  the  centre  of  this 
base,  a  building  thirty  feet  in  diameter  and  120  high, 
formed  out  of  the  spoils  of  victory,  diminishing  as  it  rises, 
to  be  surmounted  by  a  figure  twelve  feet  high.  In  the 
centre  to  be  an  equestrian  group  of  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, under  which  '  Waterloo '  should  be  inscribed  ; 
the  four  angles  to  contain  tablets  of  record,  and  statues 
of  generals.  The  interior  to  be  a  place  of  deposit  for 
preserving  the  powers  of  the  pen,  the  pencil,  and  other 
gems  from  perishing  ;  all  the  ornaments  of  the  building  to 
be  of  metal,  and  to  be  illustrative  of  the  victory."  A 
long  delay  took  place  on  the  part  of  the  Government  in 
acting  upon  these  suggestions.  The  national  desire  for  a 
memorial  of  the  great  battle  died  away,  and  other  uses 
were  found  for  the  money  intended  to  be  applied  to  this 
purpose,  so  that  the  grand  Art-project  fell  to  the 
ground. 

The  visit  of  Canova,  the  eminent  Italian  sculptor,  to 
England,  afforded  the  Eoyal  Academy  an  opportunity  of 
doing  him  honour.  He,  and  his  companions  in  travel 
were  invited  to  meet  the  members  of  the  Academy  at  a 
dinner,  which  they  gave  especially  for  the  purpose  at  their 
rooms  in  Somerset  House  on  the  1st  of  December,  1815. 
During  his  stay  in  England  the  great  sculptor  was  called 
upon  by  the  Government  to  aid  them  by  his  opinion  on 
the  sculptured  marbles  of  the  Parthenon,  which  were 
afterwards,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  purchased  from  the  Earl  of  Elgin 
(and  hence  called  the  Elgin  Marbles)  in  1816  for  £35,000. 
Canova  thought  highly  of  them,  and  his  estimate  of  them 
was  shared  by  Nollekens,  Flaxman,  Westmacott,  Chantrey 
and  Rossi,  all  Eoyal  Academicians,  who  gave  their  testi- 


CH.  VIII.]  CASE  OF  G.  H.  HABLOWE  281 

mony  before  the  Parliamentary  Committee  in  their  favour, 
as  being  unequalled  by  anything  previously  brought  to 
this  country.  In  consequence  of  these  opinions  as  to 
their  value,  they  became  national  property,  were  deposited 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  are  now  largely  studied  by 
artists. 

In  1815,  the  privilege  of  selecting  from  the  Dulwich 
Gallery  a  number  of  pictures  not  exceeding  six,  for  the 
purpose  of  being  copied  by  the  students,  was  granted  to 
the  Eoyal  Academy.  A  school  of  painting  was  formed 
for  the  purpose,  on  a  similar  plan  to  that  of  the  British 
Institution,  arid  a  curator  appointed  to  the  charge  of  it. 
Premiums  were  given  for  the  best  copies  from  these  pic- 
tures from  that  time  till  1852,  when  the  practice  was  abo- 
lished ;  and  a  medal  for  the  best  painting  from  the  living 
draped  model  was  substituted  as  likely  to  prove  of  more 
real  use  to  the  student. 

An  instance  of  rejecting  a  candidate  for  the  associateship 
occurred  at  this  period,  which  has  since,  as  it  appears  to 
us,  been  unfairly  censured.  It  was  in  the  case  of  George 
Henry  Harlowe,  formerly  a  pupil  of  Lawrence,  who  dis- 
missed him  in  consequence  of  his  having  publicly  claimed 
as  his  own  a  picture  of  '  Mrs.  Angerstein  and  her  Dog,'  on 
which  he  had  been  employed  by  his  master  to  dead- 
colour.  In  revenge  for  his  dismissal  he  painted  a  carica- 
ture of  Lawrence's  style  on  a  sign-board  at  Epsom,  and 
signed  it  "  T.  L.  Greek  Street,  Soho."  He  never  studied  at 

o  * 

the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  considered  such  instruction  as 
destructive  of  originality.  He  subsequently  painted  some 
good  pictures  and  portraits,  and  offered  himself  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  rank  of  associate.  Only  one  member, 
Fuseli,  voted  for  his  admission,  and  this,  "  not  for  the 
man,"  he  said,  "  but  for  the  talent."  It  was  the  prodigal 
habits,  and  unbridled  tongue  and  passions  of  "  the  man," 
however,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  rest  of  the  Academi- 
cians, disqualified  him  for  the  position  he  sought.  Foreign 
academies  admitted  him  to  their  honours,  but  he  could 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

not  with  propriety  have  taken  a  place  among  the  members 
of  our  own  Boyal  Academy  who  are  required,  by  the  In- 
strument of  Institution,  to  be  "  men  of  fair  moral  charac- 
ters," as  well  as  artists  of  distinction. 

The  practice  of  sending  travelling  students  abroad,  was 
necessarily  suspended  during  the  long  European  war,  and 
was  not  resumed  until  the  conclusion  of  hostilities ;  but  a 
pecuniary  compensation  was  made  to  those  who  would 
have  been  entitled  to  the  privilege  in  more  peaceful 
times.  We  have  already  mentioned  poor  Thomas  Proctor, 
the  sculptor,  who  was  elected  for  this  favour  in  1793,  but 
died  before  leaving  England.  Two  years  afterwards, 
William  Artaud,  a  painter,  was  selected,  receiving  the  in- 
creased allowance  of  £100  a  year  which  was  authorised 
in  1790.  No  students  were  sent  abroad  between  1795 
and  1818,  when  Lewis  Vulliamy,  an  architect,  obtained 
an  allowance  of  £130  for  three  years — the  grant  having 
been  increased  to  that  amount  in  the  preceding  year.  It 
continued  at  this  rate  till  1832,  when  it  was  reduced  to 
£100,  with  travelling  expenses  of  £30  out,  and  £30  home. 

The  operation  of  the  rules  in  regard  to  the  award  of 
pensions,  underwent  alteration,  as  the  capital  from  which 
they  were  to  be  paid  reached  the  amounts  fixed  by  the 
resolutions  passed  in  1796  as  the  basis  for  augmenting 
such  grants.  In  1809  the  pension  fund  reached  £15,000, 
and,  between  that  year  and  1816,  the  claimants  upon  it 
received  pensions  according  to  the  higher  rate  then  to  be 
awarded.  The  average  of  these  years  was  an  expenditure 
of  £185  5«.  11^.  a  year  on  members  of  the  Academy  or 
their  widows.  In  1817,  the  fund  having  reached  £20,000, 
the  full  amount  of  pensions  specified  by  the  law  were 
paid.  In  1820,  a  further  increase  was  authorised,  with- 
out, however,  increasing  the  capital  from  which  they  were 
paid,  and  the  following  scale  has  ever  since  been  acted 
upon : — 

An  Academician  £105,  provided  it  did  not  make  his  income  exceed  £200 
per  annum. 


CH.  VIII.  j  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  283 

An  Associate  £75,  provided  it  did  not  make  his  income  exceed  £160  per 
annum. 

An  Academician's  Widow  £75,  provided  it  did  not  make  her  income 
exceed  £160  per  annum. 

An  Associate's  Widow  £45,  provided  it  did  not  make  her  income  exceed 
£100  per  annum. 

The  average  expenditure  during  the  last  forty  years, 
according  to  this  rule,  has  been  about  £600 — the 
amount  of  the  interest  upon  the  sum  invested  for  the 
purpose. 

On  the  10th  December,  1818,  the  Eoyal  Academy  com- 
pleted the  fiftieth  year  of  its  existence,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  celebrate  the  event  by  some  enduring  memorials. 
Among  these  a  history  of  its  rise  and  progress,  a  record 
of  what  it  had  accomplished,  and  a  biographical  account 
of  its  members,  illustrated  with  portraits,  and  produced  in 
a  style  worthy  of  the  Academy,  was  the  first  proposed  ; 
and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  it  was  afterwards 
deemed  inexpedient  to  carry  out  the  idea,  since  much 
valuable  information  could  then  have  been  collected  which 
is  now  for  ever  lost,  both  as  regards  the  Academy  itself 
and  its  early  members.  A  private  record  was  afterwards 
proposed  to  be  substituted  for  this  published  one,  but 
none  appears  to  have  been  made.  Another  plan  was  to 
have  a  medal  struck  to  commemorate  the  jubilee,  but  this 
also  was  abandoned,  and  the  only  celebration  was  a 
dinner  given  to  all  the  members  at  the  Eoyal  Academy 
on  the  anniversary. 

While  thus  the  Academy  was  rejoicing  in  its  jubilee 
year,  the  venerable  President,  who  fifty  years  before  was 
among  its  first  members,  was  insensibly  losing  energy,  and 
passing  away  in  the  slow  and  easy  decay  of  old  age. 
When  he  was  in  his  seventy-ninth  year,  he  lost  his  tender 
devoted  wife,  Elizabeth  Shewell,  and  although  he  still  pur- 
sued his  appointed  duties,  and  worked  at  his  easel,  he 
never  really  survived  the  shock  caused  by  this  separation 
from  his  home-companion  of  half  a  century.  With  unim- 
paired mental  faculties,  and  with  the  same  simple  contented 


284  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

spirit  which  he  had  possessed  through  his  long  life,  he 
expired  on  the  llth  of  March,  1820,  in  the  82nd  year 
of  his  age. 

His  body  was  laid  in  state  in  the  smaller  exhibition 
room  on  the  ground  floor  of  Somerset  House,  and  Leslie 
thus  describes,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  his  sister,  the  sad 
ceremonial  of  the  funeral :  — 

"  It  was  arranged  exactly  on  the  plan  of  that  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds.  An  apartment  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  Academy 
was  hung  and  carpeted  with  black,  the  daylight  entirely  excluded, 
and  the  room  lighted  by  a  number  of  tall  wax-candles,  placed 
at  regular  distances  on  the  floor,  around  the  coffin,  which  was 
covered  by  a  pall  and  lid  of  black  feathers.  Against  the  wall, 
at  the  head  of  the  corpse,  hung  the  hatchment,  bearing  the 
family  arms.  No  one  remained  in  the  room,  excepting  Robert, 
West's  old  servant,  who  had  sat  up  there  all  the  preceding 
night.  My  feelings  were  greatly  affected  by  this  scene.  The 
company  who  were  to  attend  the  funeral  assembled  in  a  large 
upper  room,  where  they  were  provided  with  black  silk  scarves 
and  hatbands,  the  Academicians  wearing  long  black  cloaks.  It 
was  interesting  to  see  persons  of  different  ranks  and  different 
nations,  and  of  well-known  different  political  sentiments,  meet- 
ing on  this  occasion,  and  uniting  in  the  last  tribute  of  respect 
to  a  man  of  genius.  The  service  was  performed  by  Dr.  Welles- 
ley,  brother  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  In  one  part  of  it  a 
very  beautiful  anthem  was  sung  by  the  boys  of  the  choir,  the 
effects  of  which,  with  the  fine  organ  of  St.  Paul's,  was  such  as 
Milton  has  described  in  the  '  Penseroso.' " 

He  was  buried  beside  Eeynolds,  Opie  and  Barry, 
in  the  crypt  of  the  cathedral.  The  funeral  procession 
made  a  splendid  cortege :  the  pall  was  borne  by  noble- 
men, ambassadors  and  Academicians ;  his  two  sons  and 
his  grandson  were  the  chief  mourners  ;  all  the  members 
of  the  Academy,  and  many  lovers  of  the  arts  paid  their 
respectful  tribute  to  his  memory,  and  sixty  coaches  fol- 
lowed the  remains  of  the  simple  Quaker's  son  to  their  last 
resting-place. 

The  Koyal  Academy  lost  in  Benjamin  West  an  excellent 


CH.  VIII.]     INFLUENCE  OF  WEST  AS  PEESIDENT  285 

President,  who,  if  he  possessed  not  the  artistic  genius  of 
his  predecessor,  nor  the  same  literary  ability  to  address 
the  students  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  art,  yet  exer- 
cised a  beneficial  influence  over  all  its  members.  His 
perfect  command  of  temper,  his  uniform  courtesy  of  man- 
ner, and  above  all,  his  real  kindness  of  heart,  were  felt  by 
all  with  whom  he  was  brought  into  communication.  He 
never  considered  it  an  intrusion  to  be  consulted  by  the 
young  artist — he  was  liberal  and  generous  to  the  full  ex- 
tent of  his  means,  and  was  ready  to  befriend  by  his  pa- 
tronage, and  assist  with  his  purse,  all  who  needed  the 
help  it  was  in  his  power  to  render.  "  No  one  was  more 
accessible,"  says  Leslie,  "  nor,  I  may  add,  so  well  quali- 
fied to  give  advice  in  any  branch  of  art.  He  had 
generally  a  levee  of  artists  at  his  house  every  morning 
before  he  began  work.  Nor  did  a  shabby  coat  or  an 
old  hat  ever  occasion  his  door  to  be  shut  in  the  face  of 
the  wearer."  By  his  own  personal  example,  moral  and 
social,  and  as  a  laborious,  never-wearying  professor  of 
the  arts,  he  was  alike  a  pattern  of  purity,  kindness, 
and  perseverance  to  all  who  desired  to  win  respect  or 
renown. 

He  outlived  all  the  foundation  members  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  with  the  exception  of  George  Dance ;  and  of 
the  original  forty,  only  two  others,  Cosway  and  Nollekens, 
survived.  Since  the  death  of  Keynolds,  fourteen  of  the 
rmaining  original  members  had  passed  away ;  these 
were  —  Catton,  Paul  Sandby,  Bartolozzi,  Eichards,  Serres, 
Newton,  A.  Kauffman,  Mary  Moser,  Zoffany  and  Hoare, 
the  painters ;  Wilton  and  Tyler,  the  sculptors ;  and 
Thomas  Sandby  and  Sir  W.  Chambers,  the  architects. 
Sixteen  of  the  members  elected  during  Eeynolds's  pre- 
sidentship were  also  gone ;  these  were  —  James  Barry, 
De  Loutherbourg,  Copley,  Garvey,  J.  F.  Eigaud,  Opie, 
Hodges,  Eussell,  Hamilton,  Webber,  Wheatley  and 
Humphrey,  the  painters ;  Burch,  Bacon  and  Banks,  the 
sculptors ;  and  J.  Wyatt,  the  architect. 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY      [Cn.  VIII. 

During  the  twenty-eight  years  of  West's  president- 
ship forty  new  members  were  elected  Eoyal  Acade- 
micians, of  whom  an  account  will  be  given  in  the  next 
chapter ;  eight  of  these  died  within  the  same  period. 
Among  the  associates,  sixteen  vacancies  had  occurred ; 
eleven  of  these  were  painters,  viz.  George  James,  E. 
Martin,  Zucchi,  M.  A.  Eooker,  Eebecca,  Tomkins,  Elmer, 
Edwards,  Nixon,  Stubbs  and  Wright ;  and  five  associate 
engravers,  viz.  Major,  Browne,  Green,  Haward  and  Anker 
Smith.  Their  places  were  supplied  by  ten  painters,  one 
architect,  and  five  engravers,  whose  history  we  shah1  trace 
after  those  of  the  Eoyal  Academicians  elected  during  the 
same  period. 

Among  the  officers  of  the  Academy  several  changes  had 
taken  place.  The  increasing  infirmities  of  John  Eichards, 
the  secretary,  rendered  the  assistance  of  a  deputy  neces- 
sary, and  in  1810  Henry  Howard  was  appointed,  and 
became  secretary,  by  election,  in  the  following  year,  when 
Mr.  Eichards  died.  Eobert  Srnirke  was  elected  to  succeed 
Wilton,  as  keeper,  in  1804  ;  but  his  election  was  not  con- 
firmed by  his  Majesty,  and  Henry  Fuseli  was  subsequently 
appointed.  The  office  of  librarian  had  been  filled  by 
Dominic  Serres  tih1  1793,  Edward  Burch  till  1814,  and 
subsequently  by  Thomas  Stothard,  who,  with  Paul  Sandby 
and  J.  F.  Eigaud,  had  previously  acted  for  short  periods 
as  deputy-librarians.  John  Yenn  had  been  nominated,  as 
we  have  seen,  to  succeed  Chambers  as  treasurer,  and  held 
the  office  from  1796  to  1820  by  the  Eoyal  warrant.  The 
professors  of  painting  had  been  frequently  changed. 
Barry  held  the  office  when  West  became  president. 
When  he  was  expelled,  in  1799,  Henry  Fuseli  succeeded, 
but  resigned  in  1805.  John  Opie  held  the  professorship 
for  two  years,  and  Henry  Tresham  from  1807  to  1809, 
when  he  resigned,  and  Fuseli  was  re-appointed.  The 
first  Professor  of  Architecture,  Thomas  Sandby,  died  in 
1798  ;  he  was  succeeded  by  George  Dance,  who  resigned 
in  1805,  when  Sir  John  Soane  was  elected  in  his  stead, 


CH.  VHL]        CHANGES  AMONG   THE   OFFICERS  287 

and  held  the  office  for  thirty  years.  Edward  Edwards, 
the  Professor  of  Perspective,  died  in  1806,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Turner  in  1807,  who  continued  for  thirty  years 
to  hold  the  appointment.  The  new  professorship  of 
sculpture  had  been  filled  throughout  West's  presidentship 
by  John  Flaxman.  John  Sheldon,  the  Professor  of 
Anatomy,  had  been  succeeded  by  Sir  Anthony  Carlisle  in 
1808.  Among  the  honorary  members  some  changes  had 
also  taken  place.  The  office  of  chaplain  had  been  filled 
successively  by  the  Bishops  of  Killaloe  and  Exeter.  The 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence,  James  Boswell, 
had  been  succeeded  by  Prince  Hoare  in  1799  ;  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Ancient  History,  Edward  Gibbon,  by  William 
Mitford,  after  remaining  some  years  vacant.  Samuel 
Lysons  had  been  appointed  Antiquary  in  1818  ;  and  the 
professorship  of  Ancient  Literature  had  passed  from 
Bennet  Langton  to  Dr.  Charles  Burney  in  1803,  and  in 
1818  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury. 

The  financial  position  of  the  Academy  had  greatly 
improved  during  the  period  in  which  West  was  president. 
The  receipts  from  the  exhibition  and  other  sources, 
which  were  nearly  £3000  a-year  in  1792,  amounted  to 
£6299  10s.  2d.  in  1820, — the  exhibition  alone  producing 
£4650  14s.,  a  portion  of  this  increase  being  attributed  to 
the  rise  in  the  price  of  the  catalogue,  effected  in  1809. 
Besides  some  £190  a-year  expended  in  pensions,  a  yearly 
distribution  of  donations  was  made  to  those  who  needed 
assistance ;  these  gifts,  which  amounted  to  £111  11s.  in 
1792,  reached  an  average  of  nearly  £400  a-year  in  1820  ; 
so  that  while  the  funded  capital  of  £20,000  was  secured 
during  this  period,  it  was  not  obtained  by  diminishing  the 
liberality  of  the  Academy  to  artists  or  their  families,  but 
out  of  the  large  surplus  arising  from  a  steadily-increasing 
prosperity. 

The  exhibitions  during  this  period  had  annually  en- 
larged ;  and  if  they  had  changed  their  appearance  by  the 


288  HISTOKY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY     [On.  VIII. 

discontinuance  of  the  works  of  the  early  members  who 
had  passed  away,  they  had  not  lost  their  interest  when 
displaying  the  works  of  succeeding  members,  and  the 
rising  artists  of  the  day.  At  the  beginning  of  this  period 
there  were  West's  historical  and  Scripture  pieces;  the 
designs  of  Bartolozzi,  Smirke,  Stothard,  Fuseli,  Hamilton, 
Westall,  Northcote  and  Wheatley;  portraits  in  oil  by 
Lawrence,  -Beechey  and  Bigg,  in  crayons  by  Eussell,  and 
in  miniatures  by  Ozias  Humphreys  ;  and  sculptured  groups 
and  busts  by  Banks,  Nollekens  and  Bacon.  The  number 
of  contributions,  which  was  856  in  1793,  rose  to  1100  in 
1800,  but  fluctuated  between  813  and  908  during  the 
years  of  the  Peninsular  war.  A  popular  picture  in  the 
exhibition  following  the  peace  was  the  portrait  by  Law- 
rence of  '  Field-Marshal  the  Duke  of  Wellington  holding 
the  Sword  of  State,  on  the  last  day  of  the  public  thanks- 
giving at  St.  Paul's.'  In  1819  the  number  of  works 
exhibited  was  1248,  the  largest  number  ever  seen,  up  to 
that  time,  on  the  walls  of  the  Academy,  including  portraits 
by  Beechey,  Owen,  Shee  and  Jackson  ;  a  scene  in  Holland, 
a  fine  work  by  Callcott ;  three  striking  landscapes  by 
Turner :  '  England,'  '  Eichmond  Hill,'  and  the  '  Entrance 
of  the  Meuse  ; '  Wilkie's  ( Penny  Wedding ; '  Leslie's  '  Sir 
Eoger  de  Coverley ; '  West's  sketch  of  the  '  Eesurrection,' 
and  '  Csesar  reading  the  Exploits  of  Alexander  ; '  besides 
the  varied  contributions  of  Chantrey,  Baily,  Flaxman  and 
Westmacott,  the  sculptors, —  the  landscapes  of  Constable, 
Collins,  Turner,  the  two  Daniells,  and  Westall, —  the 
horses  and  battle  pieces  of  Abraham  Cooper, —  the  por- 
traits by  Beechey,  Jackson,  Owen,  Phillips  and  Shee, — 
the  historical  and  domestic  scenes  portrayed  by  Hilton, 
West,  Wilkie,  Mulready,  Newton,  Stothard  and  others. 
Thus  the  exhibition  retained  some  few  specimens  of  the 
works  of  the  early  members  of  the  Academy,  but  chiefly 
derived  its  attractions  from  those  of  the  men  who,  then  in 
their  youth  and  prime,  have  since  also  passed  away. 
A  striking  feature  of  the  exhibitions  in  Somerset  House, 


CH.  VHL]  DIPLOMA  PICTURES  289 

which  is  wanting  at  the  present  time,  was  the  collection 
of  "  diploma  .pictures,"  by  deceased  members,  and  other 
works  presented  to  the  Academy,  which  were  exhibited  in 
the  council-room.  There  were  sixty-eight  of  these  in  the 
catalogue  of  1819  —  at  least  as  many  more  have  been 
added  in  subsequent  years.  What  an  interesting  history 
of  the  growth  of  the  English  School  would  these  works 
afford  in  our  day,  if  there  were  space  available  for  their 
arrangement  in  chronological  order,  and  for  the  public 
exhibition  of  them  at  the  same  time  with  the  new 
pictures  by  living  artists ! 


VOL.  i.  u 


290 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

EOYAL   ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DUKING   THE    PKESIDENCY 

OF   BENJAMIN   WEST. 
President:  WEST. 

Painters:  R.  SMIRKE,  Sir  F.  BOURGEOIS,  T.  STOTHARD,  Sir  T.  LAWRENCE 
(future  President),  R.  WESTALL,  J.  HOPPNER,  S.  GILPIN,  Sir  W. 
BEECHEY,  H.  TRESHAM,  T.  DANIELL,  Sir  M.  A.  SHEE  (future  Presi- 
dent), J.  M.  W.  TURNER,  H.  THOMSON,  W.  OWEN,  S.  WOODFORDE, 
H.  HOWARD,  T.  PHILLIPS,  Sir  A.  W.  CALLCOTT,  Sir  D.  WILKIE, 
J.  WARD,  H.  BONE,  P.  RELNAGLE,  G.  DAWE,  W.  R.  BIGG,  Sir 
H.  RAEBTTRN,  E.  BIRD,  W.  MULREADY,  A.  E.  C.HALON,  J.  JACKSON, 
W.  HILTON,  A.  COOPER,  and  W.  COLLINS. 

Sculptors :  J.  FLAXMAN,  C.  Rossi,  N.  MARCHANT,  Sir  R.  WESTMACOTT, 
W.  THEED,  and  Sir  F.  CHANTREY. 

Architects :  Sir  J.  SOANE,  and  Sir  R.  SMIRKE,  JUN. 

A  COMPLETE  change  among  the  members  of  the  Eoyal 
-"L  Academy  occurred  before  the  second  President 
closed  his  career,  and  a  second  generation  had  arisen  in 
the  place  of  the  original  founders  of  the  then  firmly- 
established  institution.  Forty  Academicians  were  elected 
under  West's  presidentship,  of  whom  32  were  painters, 
6  sculptors,  and  2  architects. 

The  painters  were  elected  to  full  academic  honours 
in  the  following  order:  — 1793,  R.  Smirke,  and  Sir 
F.  Bourgeois ;  1794,  Thomas  Stothard,  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence  (afterwards  President),  and  Richard  Westall ; 
1795,J.Hoppner;  1797,  S.  Gilpin;  1798,  Sir  W.  Beechey ; 
1799,  H.  Tresham  and  T.  Daniell ;  1800,  Sir  M.  A.  Shee 
(afterwards  President) ;  1802,  J.  M.  W.  Turner ;  1804,  H. 
Thomson;  1806,  W.  Owen;  1807,  S.  Woodforde;  1808, 
H.  Howard  and  T.  Phillips ;  1810,  Sir  A.  W.  Callcott; 


CH.  IX.]  BENJAMIN  WEST  291 

1811,  Sir  D.  Wilkie,  J.  Ward  and  H.  Bone ;  1812, 
P.  Eeinagle;  1814,  G.  Dawe,  and  W.  E.  Bigg;  1815, 
E.  Bird  and  Sir  H.  Eaeburn;  1816,  W.  Mulready  and 
A.  E.  Chalon;  1817,  J.  Jackson;  1819,  W.  Hilton; 
1820,  A.  Cooper  and  W.  Collins.  The  sculptors  were— 
J.  Flaxman  (1800),  C.  Eossi  (1802),  N.  Marchant  (1809), 
Sir  E.  Westmacott  (1811),  W.  Theed  (1813),  and  Sir  F. 
Chantrey  (1818).  The  architects  were  Sir  J.  Soane  (1802), 
and  Sir  E.  Smirke,  jun.  (1811). 

Before  giving  a  brief  biographical  notice  of  each  of 
these  new  members,  we  must  briefly  trace  the  outline  of 
the  career  of  the  second  President,  BENJAMIN  WEST,  whose 
history,  so  far  as  it  has  not  already  been  referred  to,  we 
reserved  for  the  commencement  of  this  chapter.  He  was 
born  on  the  10th  of  October,  1738,  at  Springfield,  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  the  tenth  child  of  Quaker  parents, 
— John  and  Sarah  West, — his  father  being  one  of  the 
West  family  of  Long  Crendon,  in  Bucks.  Young  Benjamin 
was  prematurely  born,  his  mother  having  given  birth  to 
her  illustrious  son  shortly  after  listening  to  a  vehement 
field-preacher ;  and  many  predictions  as  to  his  future 
destiny  arose  from  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  his  birth. 
His  first  essay  in  art  was  made  as  early  as  his  seventh 
year,  when,  being  set  to  watch  the  cradle  of  his  sister,  he 
was  struck  by  her  smile  while  sleeping,  and  at  once 
attempted  to  take  her  portrait  in  red  and  black  ink. 
Thus  he  began  to  draw  without  having  seen  painters  or 
painting,  or  even  prints,  and  received  his  first  lessons  in 
the  art  of  preparing  his  colours  from  some  wandering 
Eed  Cherokee  Indians,  who,  looking  at  his  drawings, 
showed  him  theirs  by  way  of  contrast.  Eed  and  yellow 
colours  given  by  these  rude  artists,  indigo  from  his 
mother,  and  a  brush  formed  of  hairs  from  her  cat's  back, 
were  his  first  materials  for  painting.  Subsequently  he  had 
a  box  of  paints  and  pencils,  and  some  canvas  prepared  for 
the  easel,  given  him  by  a  relative,  a  merchant  of  Phila- 
delphia, named  Penm'ngton,  who  also  bought  him  some 

u  2 


292  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

engravings  by  Grevling,  from  which,  for  several  succes- 
sive days,  he  continued  to  copy,  unknown  to  his  parents. 

Subsequently  he  went  with  this  relation  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  painted  a  view  of  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  saw, 
for  the  first  time,  the  works  of  an  artist,  named  Williams, 
who,  struck  by  the  boy's  enthusiasm,  lent  him  the  treatises 
of  Du  Fresnoy  and  Eichardson  on  painting  to  study. 
Thus  aided  and  encouraged,  West  resolved  to  be  a  painter ; 
and  his  works  exciting  attention  in  so  quiet  a  place  as 
Springfield,  several  residents  in  the  neighbourhood  aided 
him  in  his  efforts,  and  taught  him  how  to  educate  his 
mind  so  as  properly  to  deal  with  classic  subjects.  When 
in  his  sixteenth  year,  the  Quaker  community  gravely 
discussed  the  propriety  of  allowing  one  of  their  young 
members  to  follow  such  a  vain  and  sensual  occupation  as 
that  of  a  painter  ;  but  its  high  purposes  were  set  forth  by 
some  of  those  present,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
meeting  it  was  resolved  to  allow  him  to  proceed  in  the 
course  for  which  Providence  seemed  to  have  qualified 
him  ;  the  women  rose  and  kissed  the  young  artist,  and 
the  men  one  by  one  laid  their  hands  on  his  head ;  and 
from  that  time  forth,  West  felt  himself  to  be  dedicated  to 
art,  and  pledged  only  to  employ  it  on  subjects  holy  and 
pure, —  an  intention  he  never  lost  sight  of,  and  steadily 
pursued  to  the  end  of  his  career. 

Shortly  after  this,  he  joined  a  party  of  volunteers,  under 
Major  Sir  P.  Halkett  (of  the  old  Highland  watch,  the 
42nd  Eegiment),  who  went  in  search  of  the  relics  of  the 
gallant  troops  of  General  Forbes,  who  were  lost  in  the 
desert  by  the  unfortunate  General  Braddock.  From  this 
expedition  he  returned  to  the  dying  bed  of  his  mother. 
Subsequently  he  quitted  his  home,  and  in  his  eighteenth 
year  established  himself  as  a  portrait  painter  in  Phila- 
delphia. He  obtained  many  sitters,  receiving  two  and  a 
half  guineas  for  a  head,  and  five  for  a  half-length  portrait. 
His  first  historical  picture  was  the  '  Death  of  Socrates,' 
the  figure  of  the  slave  being  painted  from  that  of  one  of 


CH.  IX.]  BENJAMIN  WEST  293 

the  workmen  of  Mr.  Henry,  a  gunsmith,  by  whom  the 
subject  was  suggested  to  him.  He  afterwards  removed  to 
New  York,  doubling  his  prices  for  portraits,  and  still 
finding  ample  employment.  By  the  aid  of  one  of  the 
merchants  there,  named  Kelly,  he  fulfilled  a  long-cherished 
desire  of  visiting  Italy,  and  reached  Eome  on  the  10th  of 
July,  1760.  Lord  Grantham  first  took  notice  of  the 
young  American,  and  he  speedily  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  visitors  to  the  Italian  capital.  Mengs,  Gavin 
Hamilton,  and  Dance,  the  artists,  were  there  at  the  time, 
and  became  his  friends.  After  studying  the  art-treasures 
of  the  Eternal  City,  West,  at  their  suggestion,  proceeded 
to  Florence,  Bologna  and  Parma.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  academies  of  those  cities,  and  afterwards 
returned  to  Eome.  In  the  interim  he  painted  two 
pictures,  '  Cimon  and  Iphigenia '  and  '  Angelica  and 
Medora,'  which  were  favourable  specimens  of  his  skill. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1763,  West  arrived  in  London, 
where  several  of  his  artist  friends  in  Eome  were  ready  to 
welcome  him.  Through  Mengs  he  became  acquainted 
with  Wilson,  was  introduced  to  Eeynolds,  and  at  once 
determined  to  remain  in  England,  taking  chambers  and  a 
studio  in  Bedford  Street,  Covent  Garden.  There  was  an 
opening  for  a  historical  painter  at  the  time,  and  his  first 
pictures  exhibited  at  the  Society  of  Artists  (those  painted 
in  Italy,  and  a  portrait  of  General  Monkton,  second  in 
command  at  the  battle  of  Quebec)  were  favourably  re- 
ceived. West  became  acquainted  at  this  time  with  Dr. 
Johnson  and  Burke,  and  received  commissions  for  a 
painting  of  'Hector  and  Andromache,'  for  Dr.  Newton, 
and  the  'Eeturn  of  the  Prodigal,'  for  the  Bishop  of 
Worcester.  Lord  Eockingham  offered  him  £700  a  year 
to  paint  historical  pictures  for  his  mansion  in  Yorkshire ; 
but  this,  after  consultation  with  his  friends,  he  declined, 
as  his  successful  beginning  led  him  to  wish  to  keep  his 
works  before  the  public. 

An  early  attachment  he  had  formed  for  a  young  lady 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  EX. 

of  Philadelphia,  Elizabeth  Shewell,  led  him  to  wish  to 
return  to  America  to  marry  her ;  but  he  was  advised  to 
send  for  her,  as  his  absence  from  England,  just  as  he  was 
attracting  notice,  might  have  been  disastrous  to  his  future 
prospects.  She  was,  for  these  reasons,  persuaded  to 
accompany  his  father  to  England,  and  West  was  married 
to  her  on  the  2nd  of  September,  1765,  at  the  Church  of 
St.  Martin-in-the-Fields.  About  the  same  time  an  en- 
thusiastic patron  of  art,  Dr.  Drummond,  Archbishop  of 
York,  was  so  pleased  with  West's  pictures  that  he  requested 
him  to  paint  one  for  him,  representing  the  '  Landing  of 
Agrippina  with  the  Ashes  of  Germanicus ; '  and  he 
followed  up  this  mark  of  approval  by  proposing  to  obtain 
for  him  an  annuity,  if  he  would  exclusively  devote  him- 
self to  historical  painting,  and  altogether  relinquish  por- 
traiture. He  and  his  friends  subscribed  £1500  ;  but  the 
public  did  not  co-operate  with  them,  and  the  project  was 
therefore  abandoned.  The  archbishop,  meanwhile,  made 
known  to  the  King  the  arrival  of  the  devout  Quaker 
from  America,  and  his  Majesty  requested  to  see  the 
artist  and  his  productions.  West  was  sent  for  to  the 
palace,  was  graciously  received,  and  was  at  once  ordered 
to  paint  the  *  Departure  of  Eegulus  from  Eome,'  for  the 
King's  collection.  His  Majesty  read  the  account  from 
Livy  to  the  artist ;  and  during  the  time  the  work  was 
going  on  he  was  frequently  invited  to  spend  the  evening 
at  Buckingham  House,  where  he  was  often  detained  by 
the  King  as  late  as  eleven  o'clock,  discoursing  on  topics 
connected  with  the  best  means  of  promoting  the  study  of 
the  fine  arts  in  the  kingdom.  Gait,  his  biographer,  says 
that  it  was  in  these  conversations  that  the  plan  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy  was  digested.  Thus  commenced  a  career 
of  nearly  forty  years  of  Eoyal  patronage,  amounting  almost 
to  personal  friendship  with  the  gracious  Sovereign,  who, 
besides  the  many  other  qualities  for  which  his  memory  is 
revered,  did  so  much  to  advance  the  arts  in  this  kingdom. 
We  have  already  seen  that  West  had  been  a  member  and 


CH.  IX.]  BENJAMIN  WEST  295 

director  of  the  old  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists,  and  that 
while  the  '  Eegulus'  was  being  painted,  the  plan  of  forming 
the  Eoyal  Academy  had  been  matured ;  and  we  have  also 
noticed  that,  among  West's  subsequent  works,  he  excited  at 
first  a  discussion,  but  afterwards  praise,  by  commencing  in 
his  picture  of '  The  Death  of  Wolfe '  an  innovation  on  the 
style  of  painting  then  prevailing,  by  representing  all  the 
persons  introduced,  in  the  costume  of  the  time  and  country 
in  which  they  lived.     A  long  series  of  historical  pictures, 
painted  for  George  III.,  followed  (most  of  which  are  now 
at   Hampton  Court  and  Windsor)  —  some   from  classic 
story,  others  from  English  history  and  Scripture.    Among 
them  were  eight  scenes  from  the  life  of  Edward  III.,  for 
St.  George's   Hall.     Subsequently,  he   proposed  to   the 
King  to  paint  a  series  of  thirty-six  subjects,  illustrating 
the  progress  of  revealed  religion,  for  his  Majesty's  Chapel 
in  the  Horn's  Court  of  Windsor  Castle ;  first  obtaining 
from   Bishop  Hurd,  Bishop  Douglas,  and   the  Dean  of 
Windsor,   an  assurance   that   they   and   the   dignitaries 
of  the  Church  saw  no  objection  to  such  paintings  in  a 
place  of  worship.     These  designs  were  divided  into  four 
dispensations  —  Antediluvian,   Patriarchal,   Mosaic,   and 
Prophetic,   apportioned   equally   between   the   Old   and 
New   Testaments.     The    Chapel  was  to   be  ninety  feet 
long  by  fifty  wide,  and  Wyatt  received  orders  to  carry 
out  the  plan  ;  the  grand  flight  of  steps  in  the  great  stair- 
case at  Windsor  Castle,  executed  by  that  architect,  being 
intended  to  lead  into  the  Eoyal  Closet  in  the  new  Chapel 
of  Eevealed  Eeligion.    Twenty-eight  of  the  pictures  were 
executed  before  the  final  illness  of  the  King,  for  which 
West  received  £21,705.    West  also  painted  nine  pictures 
of  portraits  of  the  Eoyal   Family,  receiving   for   them 
2000    guineas   more.      The   original  picture    of    'The 
Death  of  Wolfe '  was   purchased   by  Lord    Grosvenor, 
but  the  King  ordered  a  copy  of  it. 

Amidst  such  continued   employment  and   prosperity, 
the  honour  of  succeeding  Eeynolds  as  President  of  the 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

Eoyal  Academy  fell  to  West's  share  in  1792.  There 
were  none  of  his  contemporaries  who  had  so  good  a  claim 
to,  or  were  so  well  fitted  for,  this  high  position,  nor  one 
whom  the  King  would  so  gladly  confirm  in  the  appoint- 
ment. He  was  offered  knighthood  on  the  occasion  ;  but, 
doubting  how  a  Quaker  would  receive  the  honour,  the  King 
sent  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  to  inquire  whether  it  would 
be  acceptable  to  him.  It  was  respectfully  declined,  as 
West  considered  that  he  had  attained  as  much  eminence 
as  an  artist  as  any  which  such  a  title  could  confer ;  and 
he  seemed  to  feel  that  only  a  more  permanent  rank  was 
of  real  value,  as  the  means  of  preserving  in  families  a 
respect  for  the  principles  or  the  qualities  for  which  it  was 
originally  bestowed.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have 
stated  that  West  continued  to  paint  for  the  Court,  until 
the  King  could  no  longer  exercise  his  patronage ;  and 
that,  although  he  was  naturally  envied  the  privilege  thus 
conferred  upon  him,  he  did  not  actually  receive  more 
than  the  ordinary  income  of  a  good  portrait  painter  in 
these  times  as  the  reward  for  his  incessant  labour. 

After  the  peace  of  Amiens,  in  1801,  he  visited  Paris 
to  see  the  collection  formed  by  Bonaparte  at  the  Louvre. 
He  was  so  well  received  there,  that  he  said,  with  a  little 
pardonable  vanity,  "  Wherever  I  went  men  looked  at  me, 
and  ministers  and  people  of  influence  in  the  state  were 
continually  in  my  company.  I  was  one  day  at  the  Louvre  ; 
all  eyes  were  upon  me ;  and  I  could  not  help  observing  to 
Charles  Fox,  who  happened  to  be  walking  with  me,  how 
strong  was  the  love  of  art,  and  admiration  of  its  professors, 
in  France."  It  did  not,  apparently,  occur  to  him  that 
possibly  the  great  statesman  with  whom  he  was  con- 
versing might  have  been  the  chief  object  of  interest. 
The  dissension  in  the  Academy  which  led  to  his  tempo- 
rary withdrawal  from  the  office  of  President,  took  place 
after  his  return,  in  1805.  A  year  only  intervened  before 
he  resumed  his  former  position,  retaining  it  till  his  death. 

Finding  himself  deprived,  at  the  advanced  age  of  sixty- 


CH.  IX.]  BENJAMIN  WEST  297 

four,  of  the  patronage  of  the  Court,  consequent  on  the 
sad  iUness  of  the  King,  he  commenced  a  series  of  great 
religious  works,  the  first  of  which  was  '  Christ  Healing 
the  Sick,'  purchased  by  the  British  Institution  for  £3000, 
and  subsequently  presented  to  the  National  Gallery.  He 
commenced  this  work  in  answer  to  an  appeal  from  a 
society  of  Quakers  in  Philadelphia,  who  solicited  his  help 
in  enlarging  a  hospital  there,  and  for  which  he  offered  to 
paint  a  picture,  as  likely  to  be  worth  more  than  any 
money  subscription  he  could  give.  When  he  accepted 
the  offer  to  sell  it,  he  stipulated  that  he  might  make  a 
copy  of  it  for  the  hospital ;  he  did  so,  and  a  wing  for 
thirty  additional  patients  was  constructed  with  the  money 
which  it  realised  to  the  charity..  Several  other  works 
of  large  dimensions  followed :  '  The  Crucifixion,'  '  The 
Ascension,'  '  The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  our  Lord 
at  His  Baptism,'  'The  Inspiration  of  St.  Peter,'  'The 
Brazen  Serpent,'  '  St.  Paul  at  Melita,'  &c.  In  1814  he 
exhibited  his  picture  of  '  Christ  Eejected,'  and,  in  1817, 
the  celebrated  representation  of  '  Death  on  the  Pale  Horse.' 
These,  and  many  other  of  his  works,  are  well  known  by 
the  prints  made  from  them  so  admirably  by  Woollett, 
Hall,  and  Heath.  West  painted,  or  sketched,  about  four 
hundred  pictures  in  ah1,  most  of  them  subjects  requiring 
all  the  skill  and  energy  of  the  artist.  Besides  the  works 
we  have  mentioned,  he  painted  '  Penn's  Treaty  with  the 
Indians ; '  '  Stephen  carried  to  his  Burial,'  the  altar-piece  of 
St.  Stephen's,  Walbrook ;  «  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,'  for 
Trinity  College  Chapel,  Cambridge ;  '  The  First  Installation 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Garter,'  for  the  audience  chamber 
at  Windsor  Castle  ;  and  a  variety  of  others,  both  classic 
and  sacred.  Two  of  his  earlier  works  — '  Cleombrotus 
ordered  into  Banishment,'  and  'Pylades  and  Orestes'  — 
'  The  Healing  of  the  Sick,'  above  referred  to,  and  '  The 
Last  Supper,'  painted  for  George  HE.,  and  presented  by 
George  IV.,  are  now  in  the  National  Gallery.  His  out- 
line was  often  too  meagre  for  the  lofty  subjects  he  fre- 


298  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

quently  chose  ;  but  he  drew  well,  and  pencilled  rapidly 
and  admirably.     In  composition  and  effect  he  showed 
great  skill,  but  in  colouring  he  was  not  so  successful,  his 
pictures  being  often  of  a  reddish-brown  tint,  and  in  ex- 
pression  he   wanted   more  variety  and   character.      In 
invention  he  has  frequently  shown  great  power ;    some 
of  his  single  figures  are  admirable,  and  there  is  a  natural 
grace  in  most  of  his  delineations  of  women.    Much  of  the 
calm,  passionless  spirit  he  possessed,  pervades  his  pictures; 
but  they  are,  at  the  same  time,  the  reflex  of  those  pure 
and  solemn   thoughts   and   conceptions  with  which   his 
mind  was  filled.     His  religious  subjects  were  so  selected 
and  depicted  that,  while  they  were  readily  understood  by 
all,  they  awakened  the  sympathies  especially  of  persons 
of  religious  feeling  ;  nor  were  his  historical  and  classic 
subjects  wanting  in  that  chief  attraction  to  the  multitude 
-  that  of  being   brought  within   their  comprehension. 
The  fine  whole-length  portrait  of  him  by  Lawrence,  in 
the  National  Gallery,  gives  a  highly  characteristic  repre- 
sentation of  this  excellent  man,  portraying  not  only  his 
dignified  and  venerable  appearance,  but  his  amiable  and 
tranquil  disposition.     In  the  early  part  of  his  career  in 
London,  he   lived    in   Castle   Street,   Leicester   Square. 
From  1777  till  his  death  he  resided  at  No.  14  Newman 
Street,  Oxford   Street,  where  he  built  a  painting-room 
and  gallery  for  pictures.     After  his  death  (which  took 
place  on  a  sofa  in  his  drawing-room  in  Newman  Street, 
on  llth  March,  1820)  several  of  his  pictures  remained 
in  possession  of  his  family.     A  sale  of  a  portion  of  them 
took  place  at  Eobins's  in  May  1829,  when  181  pictures, 
&c.,  were  disposed  of  for  £19,137,  much  less  than  could 
have   been  obtained   for  them  in  his  lifetime.     Among 
them  were,  '  Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,'  which  sold  for 
£2000;  '  Christ  Eejected,'  which  realized  £3000  (West 
having  been   offered   £8000  for   it   years  before);  the 
'  Death  of  Nelson,'  and  '  The  Waters  subsiding  after  the 
Deluge,'  which  only  produced  together  £1300. 


CH.  IX.]  ROBERT  SMIRKE  299 

Proceeding  first  to  notice  the  Painters  elected  during 
the  period  of  West's  presidentship,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  were  appointed,  we  have  first  to  speak  of  EGBERT 
SMIRKE,  E.A.,  who  was  born  at  Wigton,  near  Carlisle, 
in  1752.  He  became  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  1772,  and  for  several  years  followed  herald-painting 
as  his  profession.  In  1786,  he  exhibited  his  first  pictures 
at  the  Academy — 'Narcissus,'  and  the  '  Lady  and  Sabrina,' 
from  "  Comus."  These,  and  '  The  Widow,'  exhibited  in 
1791,  at  once  displayed  his  powers  as  a  painter  of 
humorous  and  sentimental  subjects,  second  only  to 
Hogarth,  and  not  since  excelled  until  the  time  of  Wilkie. 
He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1791,  and  in  1793  he 
became  a  Eoyal  Academician.  On  this  occasion,  he 
gave  as  his  "Diploma"  work,  a  picture  of  'Don  Quixote 
and  Sancho.'  In  1792  he  contributed  two  pictures  from 
Thomson's  "  Seasons  "  to  the  exhibition — '  The  Lover's 
Dream,'  and  'Musidora;'  and,  in  1793, 'Lavinia,'  from 
the  same  poem.  All  his  pictures  are  of  an  imagina- 
tive character,  and  the  subjects  generally  selected  from 
the  Scriptures,  Shakspeare,  Cervantes,  "  The  Arabian 
Nights,"  &c.  They  were  generally  of  smaU  dimensions, 
and  are  chiefly  known  to  the  present  generation  by 
the  engravings  made  from  them  for  book  illustration. 
On  such  productions  he  seldom  used  much  variety 
of  colour,  but  seemed  chiefly  anxious  to  preserve  the 
chiaro-scuro.  His  larger  compositions  appear  weak 
from  this  defect  in  colour  ;  but  the  manner  in  which  he 
arranged  his  subjects,  and  the  rich  humour  of  his  cha- 
racters, without  any  intermingling  of  low  caricature, 
commend  his  works  to  the  attention  of  all,  making  the 
observer  think  and  smile,  if  not  to  laugh  outright. 
Several  of  the  contributions  to  the  Boydell  Gallery  were 
from  his  pencil,  and  the  truth  of  his  conceptions  of 
Shakspearian  scenes,  render  these  among  his  best  works. 
The  subjects  were,  'Katherine  and  Petruchio,'  'Juliet 
and  the  Nurse,'  '  Prince  Henry  and  Falstaff,'  '  The  Seven 


300  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

Ages,'  and  others.  'Don  Quixote'  was  his  favourite 
subject,  and  the  story  was  largely  illustrated  by  his 
pencil.  All  his  designs  are  full  of  quiet  and  well- 
sustained  humour,  evince  a  fine  perception  of  character, 
and  possess  considerable  delicacy  and  finish.  In  1813  he 
painted  a  picture  of  '  Infancy,'  which  was  his  last  con- 
tribution to  the  exhibition. 

In  1804  he  was  elected  by  the  Academicians  to  suc- 
ceed Wilton  as  keeper,  but  when  the  appointment  was 
submitted  for  the  King's  approval,  he  refused  to  con- 
firm it,  having  been  apprised  of  Smirke's  revolutionary 
principles,  and  of  the  free  expression  he  had  given  of  his 
satisfaction  at  the  events  which  had  been  enacted  in 
France  a  few  years  before ;  and  his  Majesty  no  doubt 
considered  that  one  holding  such  opinions  might  injuri- 
ously affect  the  young  students  in  art  proposed  to  be 
placed  under  his  charge.  A  few  years  afterwards,  Smirke 
indulged  his  satirical  vein  at  the  expense  of  the  titled 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  founded  the  British  Insti- 
tution, in  his  publication  of  a  "  Catalogue  Eaisonne " 
of  the  first  exhibitions  of  pictures  held  there. 

Throughout  his  life  he  formed  a  very  modest  estimate 
of  his  own  works,  and  was  very  unwilling  to  show  them. 
Nearly  to  the  end  of  his  long  career,  however,  he  con- 
tinued to  practise  his  art,  and  his  last  labours  were  the 
designs  he  made  for  the  bas-reliefs  for  the  Junior  United 
Service  Club,  and  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Club,  of 
which  his  sons  Eobert  and  Sydney  were  the  architects. 
He  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three,  at  his  house 
in  Osnaburgh  Street,  Eegent's  Park,  on  the  5th  of  January, 
1845,  having  been  a  full  member  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
for  fifty-three  years. 

Sir  FKANCIS  BOURGEOIS,  E.A.,  was  descended  from  a 
Swiss  family,  the  members  of  which  are  said  to  have  held 
several  high  offices  of  state  in  Berne,  and  to  have  subse- 
quently removed  to  England,  when  reverse  of  fortune  had 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  F.  BOURGEOIS  801 

befallen  them.  He  was  born  in  1756,  in  St.  Martin's 
Lane,  London,  where  his  father  was  at  that  time  carrying 
on  the  trade  of  a  watchmaker.  When  he  was  about 
eight  years  old,  the  celebrated  picture  dealer,  Noel 
Desenfans,  came  to  lodge  in  his  father's  house,  and  this 
gentleman,  both  as  a  teacher  of  languages  and  a  man  of 
great  natural  ability,  acquired  a  large  connection  among 
the  nobility  and  patrons  of  art,  by  whom  he  was  employed 
in  the  formation  of  their  galleries.  The  unfortunate 
King  Stanislaus  of  Poland  remitted  to  him  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  for  the  purchase  of  paintings  for  the  Eoyal 
Gallery  at  Warsaw :  but  after  the  pictures  had  been 
bought,  the  subsequent  misfortunes  of  that  monarch  pre- 
vented the  accomplishment  of  his  design,  and  they  remained 
in  the  possession  of  Desenfans.  In  all  probability  it  is  to 
the  innuence  which  this  gentleman  exercised  over  the 
mind  of  Bourgeois,  that  we  must  ascribe  his  choice  of  the 
profession  of  the  arts.  His  early  destination  was  the  army, 
in  which  he  had  been  promised  a  commission  by  Lord 
Heathfield,  and  he  attended  military  evolutions  and  re- 
views, but  not  it  would  seem  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
tactics  so  much  as  to  represent  the  manoeuvres  he  wit- 
nessed with  his  pencil,  having  previously  received  some 
instruction  in  drawing  from  an  animal  painter.  Some  of 
these  juvenile  productions  were  shown  to  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  who  spoke  so  favourably  of 
them,  that  he  was  subsequently  placed  as  a  pupil  with 
De  Loutherbourg,  under  whom  he  quickly  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  the  elementary  principles  of  art,  and  became 
so  attached  to  the  study,  that  he  gave  up  all  idea  of  a 
military  life,  and  soon  obtained  considerable  reputation  by 
his  landscapes,  battle  scenes,  and  sea  pieces.  In  1776  he 
travelled  through  France,  Italy,  and  Holland,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Poland,  where,  with  letters  from  his  friend 
Desenfans,  he  was  favourably  received  by  the  King,  who 
conferred  on  him  the  knighthood  of  the  order  of  merit. 
This  honour  was  confirmed  to  him  on  his  return  to 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

England  by  George' HE. ,  who  subsequently  in  1794 
appointed  him  his  landscape-painter. 

He  continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  great 
perseverance,  and  in  1791  was  appointed  painter  to  the 
King  of  Poland,  whose  brother,  the  Prince  Primate,  had 
been  much  pleased  with  his  performances  during  his  re- 
sidence in  this  country.  In  1787  he  was  elected  an  Asso- 
ciate of  the  Koyal  Academy,  and  attained  the  higher  rank 
of  E.A.  in  1793.  Soon  afterwards  he  retired  from  the 
more  active  pursuit  of  art.  In  1804  his  friend  Desenfans 
died,  leaving  to  him  the  best  of  the  pictures  he  had  col- 
lected, and  to  his  possession  of  which  we  have  already 
referred.  Sir  Francis  Bourgeois  was  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  the  master  and  fellows  of  the  college  founded  by 
Alleyn  the  actor  at  Dulwich,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions 
it  was  suggested  to  him  by  John  P.  Kemble  that  his  collec- 
tion would  be  an  appropriate  gift  to  that  body,  as  they 
already  had  a  gallery  where  they  might  be  placed  without 
fear  of  injury  to  the  pictures,  and  where  visitors  could 
easily  obtain  access  to  them.  On  his  death  (which  was 
occasioned  by  a  fall  from  his  horse)  on  January  8th,  1811, 
it  was  found  that  he  had  not  forgotten  the  hint  thus  given, 
for  he  left  the  collection  to  the  widow  of  his  friend,  with 
the  greater  part  of  his  property,  for  her  life  ;  and  be- 
queathed with  the  reversion  of  the  pictures,  £2000 
to  provide  for  the  care  of  them,  and  £10,000  for  erecting 
and  keeping  in  repair  a  gallery  for  their  reception  at 
Dulwich.  The  present  gallery  attached  to  the  coUege 
was  built  in  1812  from  the  designs  of  Sir  John  Soane. 
Bourgeois  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of  the  college, 
according  to  his  own  wish,  by  the  side  of  Desenfans, 
whose  remains  were  removed  thence  from  the  chapel 
attached  to  Bourgeois'  house,  in  which  they  were  origin- 
ally deposited. 

As  a  painter  Sir  Francis  Bourgeois  is  not  now  held  in 
high  estimation,  although  his  works  were  much  esteemed 
at  the  time  when  they  were  painted.  They  manifest  a 


OH.  EL]  BOURGEOIS— STOTHAED  303 

strong  feeling  for  art,  and  evident  labour  in  the  process  of 
execution ;  but  besides  being  crude  and  sketchy,  they  are 
monotonous  and  heavy  in  colour  —  a  mannered  imitation 
of  De  Loutherbourg,  but  without  his  genius.  In  grouping 
his  figures,  and  in  choosing  his  subjects,  he  showed  good 
taste,  however,  and  evident  appreciation  of  the  beautiful 
in  nature.  In  private  life  Sir  F.  Bourgeois  was  universally 
esteemed,  and  he  has  considerable  claims  to  grateful 
remembrance  as  the  donor  to  the  nation  of  the  coUection 
of  valuable  pictures  at  Dulwich  by  Cuyp,  Eembrandt, 
Poussin,  Murillo,  and  other  masters  chiefly  of  the  Dutch, 
Flemish,  and  Italian  schools.  Several  of  the  works  of  the 
donor  have  been  placed  in  the  collection  by  his  legatees, 
as  also  the  portrait  of  him  by  Sir  William  Beechey,  which 
was  painted  only  a  few  days  before  his  death. 

THOMAS  STOTHAKD,  E. A.  who  was  called  "  the  Giotto  of 
England  "  by  Turner,  was  born  in  London,  at  the  sign  of 
the  "  Black  Horse  "  (kept  by  his  father)  in  Long  Acre,  on 
August  17th,  1755.  Being  a  sickly  child,  he  was  sent  at 
five  years  old  to  some  relatives  at  Acomb,  a  small  village 
near  York,  to  be  nursed.  While  there  he  began  to  copy 
some  of  Houbraken's  heads,  and  other  engravings  which 
he  met  with  in  his  new  home.  At  eight  he  was  placed  at 
school  at  Stretton,  near  Tadcaster,  the  birthplace  of  his 
father  ;  and  at  thirteen  was  removed  to  a  boarding-school 
at  Uford,  in  Essex.  On  his  father's  death  shortly  after- 
wards, he  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  pattern-drawer  for 
brocaded  silks  in  Spitalfields.  The  trade  declining,  and 
his  master  dying  a  year  before  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
he  was  early  left  to  his  own  resources.  He  had,  however, 
minutely  studied  nature  in  the  drawing  of  flowers  and 
other  ornaments,  and  had  availed  himself  of  every  oppor- 
tunity of  improving  his  knowledge,  so  that  he  was  now 
prepared  to  attempt  a  higher  branch  of  art  than  that  of 
ornamental  design,  and  began  to  draw  illustrations  for  the 
"  Town  and  Countiy  Magazine,"  published  by  Harrison. 


304  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

These  were  greatly  admired,  and  he  quickly  found 
constant  employment  of  the  same  kind  upon  other  works, 
particularly  the  "  Novelist's  Magazine  "  and  Bell's  edition 
of  the  "British  Poets."  He  commenced  a  course  of 
study  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1777,  and  exhibited  his 
first  picture,  '  Ajax  defending  the  dead  body  of  Patroclus,' 
the  following  year.  Among  his  early  works  were  'A  Holy 
Family,'  '  Banditti,'  « The  Death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,' 
'King  Kichard's  Eeturn  from  Palestine,'  and  his  'Treatment 
of  Isaac,  King  of  Cyprus,'  and  '  Britomart,'  from  Spenser. 
In  1791  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1794  a  Eoyal 
Academician.  In  1810  he  began  to  act  as  deputy  librarian 
for  Mr.  Burch,  and  succeeded  to  the  office  in  1812,  retain- 
ing it  till  his  death  in  1834. 

Stothard's  never-failing  fancy  supplied  upwards  of  five 
thousand  designs  to  illustrate  the  works  of  Milton, 
Shakspeare,  Spenser,  "  Don  Quixote,"  "  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  Bell's  "  British  Poets,"  "  Eobinson  Crusoe,"  &c., 
in  which  humour,  pathos,  beauty,  innocence,  modesty, 
and  loveliness  of  form  are  combined.  Of  these  three 
thousand  were  engraved,  and  as  they  illustrated  the  popular 
literature  of  the  age,  his  reputation  was  widely  diffused 
both  in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent.  Among  his 
most  important  works  were  '  The  Pilgrimage  to  Canter- 
bury,' 'The  Flitch  of  Bacon,'  and  the  *  Wellington 
Shield,'  which  he  also  etched  himself.  His  largest  per- 
formance is  the  fresco  painting  of  the  staircase  at  Burleigh 
House,  the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Exeter.  This  work,  in 
which  the  figures  are  seven  feet  high,  was  commenced  in 
1798,  and  completed  during  four  successive  summers. 
The  subject  is  '  Intemperance,'  the  chief  figures  being 
Marc  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  surrounded  by  bacchanals, 
&c.  He  also  designed  the  ceiling  of  the  Advocates' 
Library  at  Edinburgh.  His  ordinary  pictures  were  of 
easel  size,  with  small  figures  introduced  in  them.  At  the 
beginning  of  his  career  he  followed  the  style  of  Mortimer, 
but  as  he  advanced  formed  one  peculiarly  his  own.  His 


Cn.  IX.]  THOMAS  STOTHARD  305 

oil-paintings  are  deficient  in  colour  and  are  wanting  in 
force,  having  too  much  the  appearance  of  water-colour 
drawings.  His  facility  of  composition  was  great,  but 
necessarily  led  to  mannerism  when  so  profusely  employed  ; 
the  sameness  in  his  style  is,  however,  always  accompanied 
by  so  much  purity  of  design,  truthfulness,  simplicity,  and 
grace,  that  we  never  weary  while  looking  at  his  works. 
His  chief  exceUence  consisted  in  his  impersonations  of 
virgin  innocence  and  womanly  grace,  rendered  in  an  easy, 
unaffected  manner,  which  is  very  charming.  In  comic 
subjects  he  was  very  happy,  without  descending  even  to 
an  approach  to  vulgarity.  Some  of  his  latest  productions, 
commenced  in  1829,  were  for  the  embellishment  of  the 
poems  of  his  friend  and  patron,  Samuel  Eogers,  all  of 
which  are  exquisitely  beautiful.  He  occasionally  made 
designs  for  metal  chasers,  especially  for  EundeU  and 
Bridge,  the  goldsmiths,  and  also  aided  our  sculptors  in 
the  same  way.  Chantrey's  celebrated  monument  of  the 
'  Sleeping  Children,'  in  Lichfield  Cathedral,  was  made  from 
his  design.  He  was  commissioned  to  design  the  reverse 
to  the  gold  medal  awarded  by  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and 
received  £20  for  the  drawing  he  made  for  it. 

For  several  months  before  his  death,  he  was  compelled 
by  bodily  infirmity  to  relinquish  his  profession,  but  still 
attended  the  meetings  and  lectures  at  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
and  performed  his  duties  as  their  librarian.  His  deafness 
had  for  years  hindered  him  from  taking  part  in  the  dis- 
cussions, but  he  never  missed  attending  the  meetings,  the 
proceedings  at  which  were  explained  to  him  in  writing  by 
those  around  him.  He  had  a  numerous  family,  and  one 
of  his  sons,  Charles  Alfred  Stothard,  was  the  author  of 
an  antiquarian  work  of  great  value,  "  The  Monumental 
Effigies  of  Great  Britain."  A  very  interesting  life  of  the 
artist  was  published  by  this  gentleman's  widow,  afterwards 
Mrs.  Bray,  in  1851.  Thomas  Stothard  lived  to  a  venerable 
age,  retaining  to  the  last  the  gentleness  and  benevolence 

VOL.  i.  x 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

of  disposition  by  which  his  long  life  was  characterised, 
and  died  at  his  house,  No.  28  Newman  Street,  Oxford 
Street,  where  he  had  resided  more  than  forty  years,  on 
the  27th  of  April,  1834.  He  was  buried  in  Bunhill 
Fields  burial-ground,  and  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  the 
President  and  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  There  are 
portraits  of  him  by  Harlowe,  Jackson,  and  Wood,  and  a 
bust  in  marble  by  Baily.  Six  very  pleasing  specimens  of 
his  skill  are  in  the  Vernon  Gallery,  and  ten  more  in  the 
Sheepshanks  Collection. 

EICHAED  WESTALL,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Hertford,  in  1765. 
In  1779  he,  like  Hogarth,  was  apprenticed  to  an  heraldic 
engraver  on  silver,  named  Thompson,  in  Gutter  Lane, 
Cheapside  ;  but  while  thus  employed,  a  miniature  painter, 
named  Alefounder,  having  observed  his  abilities  for  greater 
things,  recommended  him  to  adopt  painting  as  his  profes- 
sion. Accordingly,  after  learning  at  an  evening  school  of 
art,  he  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1785, 
and  shortly  afterwards  he  commenced  his  career  as  an 
artist  by  exhibiting  a  picture  from  Chaucer's  sarcastic 
poem  of  "  January  and  May."  He  took  a  house  in  Soho 
Square,  at  the  corner  of  Greek  Street,  jointly  with 
Sir  Thomas  (then  Mr.)  Lawrence  ;  they  lived  there  for 
several  years  together,  and  from  the  congeniality  of  their 
dispositions  and  tastes,  their  acquaintance  continued 
through  life.  Westall  was  chosen  an  Associate  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  1792,  and  E.A.  in  1794,  the  same  year  in 
which  Stothard  and  his  friend  Lawrence  attained  the  like 
dignity.  He  first  attracted  public  favour  by  some  highly 
finished  historical  pictures  in  water-colours.  Among 
those  especially  admired  were  l  Esau  seeking  Isaac's 
Blessing,'  '  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  parting  from  Andrew 
Melvil  on  her  Way  to  Execution,'  '  Sappho  chanting  the 
Hymn  of  Love,'  '  Jubal  and  the  Lyre,'  '  The  Boar  that 
killed  Adonis  brought  to  Venus,'  '  The  Storm  in  Harvest,' 
'  Calypso  entertaining  Telemachus,'  and  other  similar 


CH.  IX.]  RICHARD  WESTALL  307 

subjects.  His  more  enduring  reputation  rests,  however, 
chiefly  on  the  numerous  beautiful  designs  he  executed  for 
Boydell's  Milton  and  Shakspeare  galleries,  and  the  illus- 
trations to  other  works.  Many  of  his  drawings  for 
Milton's  poems  were  graceful,  and  some  even  approached 
to  grandeur.  Bowyer's  "  History  of  England  "  furnished 
further  subjects  for  his  pencil ;  and  a  series  of  illustrations 
of  the  services  of  the  Church  of  England,  are  still  popular 
by  the  engravings  from  them.  He  attempted  to  paint 
large  historical  pictures,  but  abandoned  the  idea  when  he 
found  that  he  could  obtain  no  purchasers  for  them  ;  and 
latterly  he  confined  himself  to  making  designs  for  book- 
illustration,  after  the  example  of  Stothard.  Crabbe's 
"  Poems,"  Moore's  "  Loves  of  the  Angels,"  and  a  volume  of 
poems  by  himself,  entitled  "  A  Day  in  Spring,"  were  among 
the  productions  embellished  by  his  designs,  which  from 
their  number,  and  the  rapid  succession  in  which  they  were 
executed,  soon  displayed  a  great  similarity  in  their  manner 
of  treatment.  In  his  latter  years  he  unfortunately  became 
greatly  embarrassed  by  some  imprudent  partnership  en- 
gagements and  unsuccessful  speculations  in  the  works  of 
old  masters  ;  and  his  circumstances  in  life  were  seriously 
affected  by  them.  His  last  professional  occupation  was 
a  very  gratifying  one, —  that  of  giving  lessons  in  draw- 
ing and  painting  to  her  Majesty,  when  Princess  Vic- 
toria ;  and  the  beautiful  drawings  made  by  our  gracious 
Sovereign,  and  her  refined  taste  in  art,  evince  that 
good  use  was  made  of  the  instruction  which  Westall 
was  able  to  render  to  his  Royal  pupil.  He  died  on  the 
4th  of  December,  1836. 

Of  Sir  THOMAS  LAWRENCE,  elected  in  the  same  year  with 
Eichard  Westall,  and  also  of  Sir  MARTIN  ARCHER  SHEE, 
elected  in  1800,  we  shall  have  to  speak  in  subsequent 
chapters,  when  referring  to  the  Academicians  appointed 
during  the  periods  in  which  they  filled  the  office  of 
President ;  and  therefore  only  mention  them  here  among 

x  2 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

the  painters  elected  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  now 
speaking. 

JOHN  HOPPNER,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  German 
attendants  in  the  King's  Palace  at  St.  James's,  and  was 
born  in  London  in  1759.  He  was  educated  under  the 
directions  given  by  George  III.,  and,  when  very  young, 
was  selected  to  be  one  of  the  choristers  of  the  Chapel 
Eoyal.  In  1775,  when  in  his  sixteenth  year,  he  became 
a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and,  in  1782,  obtained 
the  gold  medal  awarded  for  historical  painting  —  the 
subject  being  '  A  Scene  from  King  Lear.'  In  the  begin- 
ning of  his  artistic  career,  he  met  with  especial  favour 
from  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  patronised  him  at  a  time 
when  Lawrence  and  Opie  were  in  the  ascendant  as  por- 
trait painters.  Mrs.  Siddons  was  one  of  his  first  sitters ; 
and  four  members  of  the  Eoyal  Family,  and  a  host  of 
noble  personages,  followed.  Mingled  with  this  practice, 
Hoppner  attempted  ideal  subjects,  and  at  this  time  pro- 
duced '  A  Sleeping  Venus,' '  Youth  and  Age,'  and  '  Belisa- 
rius.'  This  was  ere  he  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty. 
Within  the  next  ten  years  he  carried  on  a  professional 
rivalry  with  Lawrence,  who  was  steadily  increasing  in 
popularity,  and  enjoyed  the  favour  of  the  King  and  the 
Court,  while  Hoppner  could  only  designate  himself  "por- 
trait painter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales."  At  this  time  he 
lived  in  Charles  Street,  at  the  gates  of  Carlton  House,  and 
found  constant  employment,  as  may  be  judged  from  the 
long  list  of  distinguished  persons  who  sat  to  him  for  their 
portraits.  He  painted  with  ease  and  rapidity,  and  seems 
to  have  formed  his  style  by  a  careful  study  of  that  of  Sir 
Joshua  Eeynolds,  rather  than  by  imitation  of  it.  He  had 
also  great  skill  in  landscape  painting,  and  the  backgrounds 
of  his  portraits  bear  testimony  to  his  ability  in  depicting 
scenery.  He  avoided  in  his  likenesses  all  approach  to 
coarseness  or  vulgarity,  but  he  sometimes  "improved" 
his  subjects  till,  by  refinement,  they  lost  characteristic 


CH.  IX.]  JOHN  HOPPNER  309 

fidelity.  In  his  delineations  of  elegant  women  and 
children  he  was  in  his  true  element ;  less  so,  perhaps,  in 
his  portraits  of  men,  which  sometimes  lacked  dignity  and 
individuality.  His  pictures  are  effective  ;  his  colouring 
natural,  chaste,  and  powerful ;  and  his  tones,  for  the  most 
part,  mellow  and  deep.  In  some  few  instances,  how- 
ever, his  pictures  are  gaudy.  He  was  elected  an  Asso- 
ciate in  1793,  and  a  Eoyal  Academician  hi  1795,  on 
which  occasion  he  presented  his  own  portrait — a  spirited 
work  —  to  the  Eoyal  Academy.  Among  the  works  of 
deceased  British  artists  exhibited  at  intervals,  after  his 
death,  at  the  British  Institution,  those  of  Hoppner  always 
occupied  a  place,  since  he  was  employed  to  paint  the 
portraits  of  many  persons  distinguished  in  the  history 
and  literature  of  this  country,  which  will  always  give  to 
his  pictures  an  added  value  to  that  which  they  possess  as 
works  of  art.  His  portraits  of  the  Et.  Hon.  W.  Pitt,  and 
of  "  Gentleman  Smith,"  the  actor,  are  in  the  National 
Gallery. 

In  early  life,  he  visited  frequently  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Wright,  in  Pall  Mall,  a  modeller  of  portraits  in  wax,  and 
a  woman  of  great  taste  and  talent,  whose  house  became  a 
rendezvous  for  artists  and  statesmen.  He  subsequently 
married  the  daughter  of  this  lady,  by  whom  he  had  a 
family,  one  of  his  sons  being  for  some  years  the  British 
Consul  at  Venice.  In  1809,  Hoppner's  health  visibly 
declined.  Lawrence  called  repeatedly  to  inquire  for  him, 
and  wrote  very  feelingly  of  his  grief  at  "the  loss  of  a 
brother  artist,  from  whose  works  I  have  often  gained 
instruction,  and  who  has  gone  by  my  side  in  the  race 
these  eighteen  years."  He  resided  for  many  years  at 
No.  18  Charles  Street,  St.  James's,  and  was  highly  valued 
for  his  estimable  character  in  private  life.  He  died  of 
dropsy,  after  long  previous  suffering  with  bilious  and  liver 
complaints,  on  the  23rd  January,  1810 ;  and  was 
buried  in  the  ground  adjoining  St.  James's  Chapel,  in  the 
Hampstead  Eoad. 


310  HISTORY  OF  TILE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

SAWEEY  GILPIN,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Carlisle  in  1733,  and 
was  the  son  of  a  captain  in  the  army,  who  early  taught  him 
the  first  principles  of  drawing,  and  thus  implanted  in  him 
the  desire  to  become  a  painter.  He  was  also  a  descend- 
ant of  the  good  and  hospitable  Bernard  Gilpin,  whose 
life  forms  one  of  the  most  pleasing  pictures  of  simplicity 
and  virtue  in  connexion  with  the  troublous  times  of  the 
Eeformation  in  which  he  lived.  A  brother  of  the  artist 
was  the  Eev.  W.  Gilpin,  vicar  of  Boldre,  who  wrote  the 
life  of  his  ancestor  Bernard,  and  many  other  works. 
Sawrey  Gilpin  having  determined  to  become  an  artist, 
was  placed  with  Scott,  the  marine  painter,  to  study  in 
London,  where  he  exercised  his  pencil  in  sketching  groups 
of  market  people,  carts  and  horses,  &c.,  from  his  window ; 
but  his  own  taste  led  him  especially  to  paint  animals ;  and 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  to  whom  some  of  his  drawings 
of  horses  were  shown,  so  much  admired  them  that  he 
took  Gilpin  under  his  patronage,  and  gave  him  a  com- 
mission to  paint  portraits  of  his  favourite  racers,  and 
other  subjects,  at  Newmarket.  Thus  his  peculiar  line  in 
art  became  marked  out  for  him,  and  he  speedily  became 
the  recognised  painter  of  such  subjects,  which  he  executed 
with  great  truth,  being  well  acquainted  with  the  anatomy 
of  animals,  and  drawing  them  with  spirit  and  correctness. 
He  also  painted  tigers  and  wild  animals  with  great 
ability,  and  sometimes  ventured  upon  historical  subjects, 
as  in  his  pictures  of  '  The  Election  of  Darius,'  and  '  The 
Triumph  of  Camillus.'  He  and  Barret,  the  landscape 
painter,  frequently  worked  together  —  the  one  producing 
the  animals  in  Barret's  landscapes,  and  the  other  painting 
the  scenery  surrounding  Gilpin's  horses,  &c.  A  set  of 
etchings  of  oxen,  a  small  book  of  horses,  and  some  heads 
for  his  brother's  book,  "  The  Lives  of  the  Eeformers,"  were 
published  by  him.  In  his  especial  department  he  was  far 
superior  to  any  of  his  contemporaries,  and  has  rarely  been 
excelled  since,  although  his  colouring  was  somewhat 
defective,  and  his  pictures  lacked  some  other  technical 


CH.  IX.]  GILPIN  — BEECHEY  311 

qualities.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1795,  and  a 
E. A.  in  1797.  He  was  greatly  respected  through  a  long 
life  for  his  extreme  simplicity  of  manner  and  high  moral 
character,  and  died  at  Brompton  on  the  8th  March,  1807. 

Sir  WILLIAM  BEECHEY,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Burford,  in 
Oxfordshire,  on  the  12th  December,  1753.  He  was  articled 
to  a  conveyancer  at  Stow,  in  Gloucestershire,  but  after  a 
time  he  grew  restless  under  the  monotony  of  a  provincial 
lawyer's  office,  and  came  to  London,  where  he  was 
articled  to  Mr.  Owen  of  Tooke's  Court.  Accidentally,  he 
became  acquainted  with  some  students  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  and  the  pursuits  in  which  they  were  engaged 
so  greatly  delighted  him  that  he  procured  a  substitute  to 
serve  the  remainder  of  his  articles  to  Mr.  Owen,  and,  in 
1772,  became  a  student  at  the  Academy.  He  carefully 
studied  the  works  of  Eeynolds  ;  but,  acting  upon  the 
suggestion  and  example  of  his  friend  Paul  Sandby,  he 
made  nature  his  model,  and  so  endeavoured  to  qualify 
himself  for  competition  with  great  artists,  rather  than  to 
try  to  imitate  their  style.  Among  his  earliest  works  were 
portraits  of  Dr.  Strachey,  Archdeacon  of  Norwich,  and 
his  family,  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumberland. 
In  1781  he  went  to  Norwich,  and  remained  there  four 
or  five  years,  painting  small  conversation  pieces,  in  the 
manner  of  Hogarth  and  Zoffany.  He  sent  two  large 
frames  of  these,  containing  twelve  or  thirteen  portraits  in 
each,  to  the  Eoyal  Academy  Exhibition ;  but  they  were 
refused  on  account  of  occupying  too  much  space,  and 
were  transferred  to  Vandergucht's  rooms,  at  the  Lyceum, 
where  they  attracted  much  attention.  At  Norwich  he 
first  began  to  paint  life-size  portraits,  and  also  some  fancy 
pieces — '  Lavinia,'  from  Thomson's  "  Seasons  ; "  '  A  Lady 
Playing  on  a  Harp,'  and  '  The  Witch  of  Endor.'  On  his 
return  to  London,  he  took  Vandergucht's  house,  20 
Lower  Brook  Street,  and  there  was  gratified  by  obtaining 
much  patronage,  and  increasing  celebrity.  Thence  he 


312  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

removed  to  Hill  Street,  and  subsequently  to  George 
Street,  Hanover  Square.  A  large  number  of  commissions 
for  portraits  of  the  nobility  led  the  way  to  Koyal  patron- 
age, and  this  at  a  time  when  he  had  many  eminent  rivals 
in  the  same  branch  of  art.  In  1793  he  was  elected  an 
Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  in  the  same  year 
he  was  appointed  portrait  painter  to  Queen  Charlotte, 
of  whom  he  shortly  afterwards  painted  a  whole-length 
portrait,  and  all  the  Princesses  sat  to  him.  In  1798  he 
was  commanded  to  paint  a  picture  of  the  King  at  a 
Eeview  of  the  3rd  and  10th  Dragoons,  attended  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  York,  Generals  Dundas, 
Fawcett,  and  Goldsworthy,  &c.  This  work  (now  at 
Hampton  Court)  was  universally  admired,  as  combining 
with  the  fidelity  of  portraiture  the  interest  and  expres- 
sion of  a  historical  picture.  As  a  mark  of  the  Eoyal 
favour,  he  was  knighted  on  9th  of  May,  1798,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  among  the 
Eoyal  Academicians  caused  by  the  death  of  William 
Hodges. 

From  this  time  he  painted  the  majority  of  ah1  the 
persons  of  distinction,  and  the  rank  and  fashion  of  his 
time.  Lord  Nelson,  Earl  St.  Vincent,  Marquis  Cornwallis, 
Lord  Sidmouth,  Sir  W.  Hamilton,  Kemble,  Mrs.  Siddons, 
Alderman  Boydell,  Wilkie,  Nollekens  (now  in  the  National 
Gallery),  and  Paul  Sandby,  were  among  the  number. 
One  of  his  best  works  was  a  picture  of  his  second  wife 
with  the  youngest  of  his  eight  children  in  her  arms.  This 
lady  was  also  an  artist  in  miniature,  and  copied  in  that 
manner  many  of  her  husband's  works.  One  of  his  sons 
is  now  Captain  Beechey,  E.N.,  distinguished  as  an  arctic 
traveller,  whose  knowledge  of  art  greatly  aided  in  pre- 
serving memorials  of  what  he  saw  in  those  unexplored 
regions.  Another  son,  H.  W.  Beechey,  has  written  a 
life  of  Sir  J.  Eeynolds,  prefixed  to  his  writings,  and  other 
works. 

Sir  William  Beechey  died  at  Hampstead,  on  the  28th 


CH.  IX.]  BEECHEY  — TEESHAM  313 

of  January,  1839,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six,  much 
regretted  by  numerous  attached  friends,  who  admired  his 
honest  and  open  conduct  throughout  a  long  and  honour- 
able career.  His  works  (most  of  which  have  been  en- 
graved) are  remarkable  for  truth  of  resemblance,  purity 
of  colour,  and  simplicity  of  treatment.  Although  he  is 
chiefly  known  as  a  portrait  painter,  Beechey  also  painted 
some  historical  compositions  of  more  than  common  merit, 
and  at  one  time  designed  some  fanciful  subjects.  Eor  a 
long  period  he  held  a  prominent  position  as  a  portrait 
painter,  notwithstanding  the  many  able  competitors  around 
him,  and  during  the  reign  of  George  III.  he  was  the 
principal  Court  painter;  but  the  illness  of  the  King 
weakened  his  interest,  and  the  fascination  of  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence's  pencil  -diverted  patronage  to  that  formidable 
rival,  especially  as  Beechey's  later  works  were  not  so 
carefully  executed  as  those  by  which  he  had  won  his 
way  to  fame. 

HENRY  TRESHAM,  E.A.,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  received 
his  first  instruction  in  art  at  West's  Academy,  in  Dublin, 
under  Mr.  Ennis.  He  exhibited  some  chalk  drawings 
there  in  1770;  the  next  year,  three  allegorical  pictures, 
for  compartments  of  a  ceiling,  viz.  the  'Polite  Arts,' 
'Apollo,'  and  'Mercury.'  'Andromache  mourning  over 
Hector's  Body'  followed  in  1772.  He  came  to  England 
in  1775,  and  was  for  some  time  occupied  in  drawing 
small  portraits,  until,  obtaining  the  patronage  of  Lord 
Cawdor,  he  was  invited  to  accompany  him  in  his 
travels  through  Italy.  Tresham  remained  on  the  Con- 
tinent fourteen  years,  staying  chiefly  at  Borne,  and  pro- 
secuted his  studies  of  the  antique  and  the  works  of 
the  great  masters  so  zealously  and  successfully  that  he 
became  one  of  the  most  correct  and  elegant  designers  of 
his  day.  His  drawings  in  pen  and  ink,  and  in  black 
chalk,  especially  display  his  ability  in  their  spirited  and 
bold  execution.  Several  publications  were  illustrated  by 


814  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IX. 

him  prior  to  the  Boydell  "  Shakspeare,"  on  which  he  was 
employed  to  contribute  three  scenes  from  the  play  of 
"Antony  and  Cleopatra."  These  and  all  his  designs 
were  well  composed,  but  his  colouring  was  somewhat 
tame.  In  addition  to  his  artistic  pursuits,  he  occasionally 
wrote  poetry.  He  published  "  Eome  at  the  close  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century,"  "Britannicus  to  Bonaparte,"  and 
the  "  Sea-side  Minstrel."  On  his  return  from  Eome  he, 
with  some  gentlemen  picture-dealers,  formed  a  gallery  of 
old  masters,  in  which  a  number  of  works  were  exhibited 
attributed  (but  not  always  correctly)  to  Correggio,  Raphael, 
Carracci,  &c.  Subsequently  he  superintended  a  work 
projected  by  Messrs.  Longman  and  Co.,  entitled  "  The 
British  Gallery,"  consisting  of  engravings  from  the  old 
masters,  for  which  he  wrote  the  descriptions.  The 
coloured  copies  of  these  prints  were  greatly  admired. 
They  were  published  singly  at  six  guineas  the  plate,  and 
the  whole  number,  25,  cost  150  guineas.  He  became  an 
Associate  in  1791,  and  a  Eoyal  Academician  in  1799;  and 
was  appointed  Professor  of  Painting  in  1807,  in  succession 
to  Opie,  but  resigned  in  1809,  as  he  found  his  health  so 
much  impaired  since  his  return  from  Italy  as  to  render 
him  unfit  for  the  duties  of  the  office.  Indeed,  for  several 
years  before  his  death  he  was  reduced  to  a  state  of  feeble- 
ness and  infirmity,  which  prevented  any  arduous  labour. 
Happily,  he  was  not  dependent  on  his  exertions,  for  the 
Earl  of  Carlisle  liberally  assigned  to  him  an  annuity  of 
£300,  in  return  for  a  collection  of  Etruscan  vases  he  had 
formed  while  abroad.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  June,  1814, 
lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  loved  him  for 
his  amiable  qualities  of  heart,  and  respected  by  his  brother 
academicians  as  one  who  had  an  elegant  taste  for,  and  was 
always  alive  to  the  interests  of  art,  even  when  no  longer 
able,  from  bodily  suffering,  to  follow  it  as  a  profession. 

THOMAS  DANIELL,  E.A.,  was  born  in  1749,  at  Kingston- 
on-Thames.     He  was  originally  a  painter  of  heraldry,  and 


CH.  IX.]  THOMAS  DANIELL  315 

subsequently  of  English  landscape  scenery;  he  also 
practised  engraving,  and  added  to  these  efforts  some 
attempts  at  poetical  composition.  In  1773  he  became  a 
student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  Among  his  early  works 
were  a  view  of  the  house  of  the  poet  Cowley  at  Chertsey, 
'Una  and  the  Eed  Cross  Knight'  (from  the  "Fairy  Queen"), 
and  some  scenes  in  Yorkshire,  &c.  In  1784,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-five,  he  went  to  India,  with  his  nephew,  William 
Daniell,  with  the  intention  of  making  sketches  of  that 
then  comparatively  unknown  land.  They  commenced 
their  task  at  Cape  Comorin,  and  explored  and  sketched 
almost  everything  that  was  beautiful  or  interesting  in  the 
country  between  that  point  and  Serinagur,  in  the  Hima- 
laya Mountains.  They  were  thus  occupied  ten  years.  In 
1796  Thomas  Daniell  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in 
1799  a  Eoyal  Academician.  After  their  return  from 
India  the  uncle  and  nephew  commenced  the  publication 
of  a  series  of  fine  aquatinta  engravings  from  their 
drawings,  in  their  great  work  entitled  "  Oriental  Scenery," 
which  was  completed  in  1808,  in  six  volumes, — the  en- 
gravings in  five  of  which  were  executed  by  William 
Daniell.  From  this  period  he  rarely  painted  any  but 
Indian  subjects,  and  he  also  published  some  works 
relating  to  that  country.  He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Eoyal, 
Asiatic,  and  Antiquarian  Societies.  He  survived  to  a 
great  age,  his  death  having  taken  place  on  the  19th  of 
March,  1840,  when  he  was  in  his  91st  year.  He  was 
buried  in  Kensal  Green  Cemetery,  where  there  is  an 
altar-tomb  over  his  grave,  with  an  inscription,  written,  at 
the  request  of  Sir  David  Wilkie,  by  Allan  Cunningham. 

Sir  MARTIN  ARCHES  SIIEE  was  the  next  artist  elected 
as  a  Eoyal  Academician  ;  but  as  he  will  form  the  centre 
of  a  circle,  as  a  subsequent  President  of  the  Academy, 
we  defer  giving  an  outline  of  his  life  till  a  future  chapter. 

It  seems  even  to  be  too  early  in  this  history  to  write  a 


816  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

notice  of  JOSEPH  HALLOED  WILLIAM  TUENEE,  E.A.,  who 
has  so  recently  passed  away  from  us,  arid  regarding  whose 
style  and  works  there  is  still  so  much  animated  discussion. 
Yet  he  was  a  student  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  so  long  ago 
as  1789,  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1799,  and  became  a 
Eoyal  Academician  in  1802.  He  was  born  on  the  23rd 
of  April,  1775,  at  No.  26,  Maiden  Lane,  Covent  Garden, 
at  the  corner  of  Hand  Court  (the  house  has  lately  been 
taken  down),  where  his  father,  William  Turner,  was  a 
hairdresser.  An  entry  of  his  baptism,  on  the  14th  of 
May  in  that  year,  is  preserved  in  the  register  of  St.  Paul's, 
Covent  Garden.  From  his  father's  humble  position  in 
life,  nothing  beyond  the  rudiments  of  an  ordinary  English 
education  fell  to  his  share.  In  his  tenth  year  he  went  to 
reside  with  an  aunt  at  Brentford,  who  sent  him  to  school 
at  a  Mr.  White's  there ;  afterwards  he  was  at  school  at 
Margate,  and  in  Soho.  His  taste  for  art  was  early 
manifested;  and  the  first  way  in  which  he  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  it  was  by  borrowing  a  drawing  or  picture 
to  copy,  or  by  making  a  sketch  of  one  in  the  exhibition 
early  in  the  morning,  and  finishing  it  at  home.  One  of 
his  earliest  drawings  now  preserved  is  a  copy  of  one  by 
Paul  Sandby,  in  water-colours.  He  learned  perspective 
from  Thomas  Malton,  and  was  afterwards,  for  some 
months,  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Hardwick,  the  architect  of  St. 
Katherine's  Docks.  He  was  admitted  as  a  student  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1789,  and  gained  there  a  good  deal  of 
technical  instruction  in  art,  if  he  did  not  follow  out  the 
prescribed  course  of  teaching  in  the  life  and  antique 
schools. 

Another  means  of  sen-improvement  was  afforded  to 

0/f       him  by  Dr.  Mjinro,  who  possessed  in  his  house  in  the 

/         Adelphi  a  large  collection  of  water-colour  drawings  and 

engravings    by    Paul    Sandby,    Gainsborough,   Eooker, 

Wilson,  Hearne,  Cozens,  and  other  artists  of  the  time, 

which  he  placed  at  the  disposal  of  young  students  who 

might  wish  to  copy  them,  and  gave  them  further   en- 


CH.  IX.]  J.  M.  W.  TURNER  317 

couragement  by  purchasing  at  small  prices  the  sketches 
they  made  of  the  scenery  around  London.  Turner  there 
met  Girtin,  and  the  two  students  worked  together.  Girtin 
had  been  well  instructed  as  an  artist,  and  was  Turner's 
senior,  and  he  doubtless  gained  much  from  his  suggestions. 
Their  xtrawings  were  very  similar  at  this  period,  except  that 
Girtin's  colouring  was  warmer,  and  Turner's  details  were 
more  delicately  traced  ;  the  drawings  he  then  made,  how- 
ever, would  bear  no  comparison  with  those  of  modern 
artists,  or  even  with  his  own  at  a  later  period.  In  Dr. 
Mytnro's  school  Varley,  Edridge,  and  others  studied ;  and 
from  the  elaborate  and  tasteful  delineations  of  the  artists 
whose  works  they  copied,  they  acquired  the  rudiments  of 
a  just  and  accurate  insight  into  the  properties  of  topogra- 
phical design,  and  from  some  of  them  a  practical  know- 
ledge of  breadth  and  simplicity,  united  with  the  charm  of 
aerial  perspective.  Unfortunately,  the  talented  Girtin  was 
early  lost  to  art,  as  he  died,  in  his  27th  year,  in  1802, 
from  which  time  Turner  was  left  to  pursue  his  course 
without  a  friendly  competitor. 

In  1787,  when  he  was  only  twelve  years  old,  he  ex- 
hibited two  drawings  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  of  '  Dover 
Castle '  and '  Wanstead  House.'  In  1789  he  was  painting, 
with  Girtin,  on  the  Thames.  Subsequently  he  taught 
drawing,  at  first  for  5s.,  and  afterwards  for  2 Is.  a  lesson, 
and  at  intervals,  in  succeeding  years,  made  excursions 
to  Wales,  Yorkshire,  the  Lakes,  and  the  coast.  In  1790 
he  sent  a  view  of  Lambeth  Palace  to  the  exhibition,  and 
continued  for  sixty  years  uninterruptedly,  from  that 
period,  to  contribute  his  works  to  the  exhibitions. 

His  early  practice  was  principally  in  water-colours. 
During  the  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  artistic  career 
he  confined  his  efforts  to  views  of  English  and  Welsh 
scenery  in  this  style,  in  which  his  brilliancy  of  execution 
and  truthfulness  of  representation  won  great  admiration. 
The  exceptions  to  this  class  of  subjects  were  the  '  Battle 
of  the  Nile/  painted  in  1799,  and  the  'Fifth  Plague  of 


318  HISTORY   OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

Egypt,'  in  1800.  His  merits  were  acknowledged  by  his 
election  as  an  Associate  in  1799,  and  in  1802  as  a  Eoyal 
Academician.  Still  desiring  to  attain  to  higher  power, 
and  to  venture  upon  new  fields,  he  now  visited  Scotland, 
France,  Switzerland,  Italy  and  the  Ehine,  and  commenced 
painting  in  oil  on  larger  canvases,  and  chose  classic 
subjects  for  some  of  his  works.  Four  of  his  pictures 
exhibited  in  1802  were  views  in  Scotland,  two  marine 
subjects,  and  two  others  were  'Jason'  and  the  'Tenth 
Plague  of  Egypt.'  Continuing  to  try  what  he  could  do, 
the  next  year  he  produced  '  A  Holy  Family ; '  afterwards 
he  took  to  humorous  subjects,  such  as  'A  Country 
Blacksmith  disputing  the  Charge  for  shoeing  a  Pony' 
(1807),  the  'Unpaid  Bill'  (1808),  and  the  '  Ga/etteer's^y! 
Petition'  (1809).  It  is  to  this  period  that  we  owe 
Turner's  noble  pictures  representing  the  fury  of  the  ocean 
with  such  fearful  truthfulness,  as  in  the  '  Wreck  of  the 
Minotaur,'  the  '  Shipwreck,'  the  '  Gale,'  and  others  well 
known  by  the  engravings  from  them.  Meanwhile  he  also 
continued  to  paint  landscapes  with  great  poetic  taste,  and 
to  indulge  in  imaginative  productions,  such  as  'Apollo 
and  Python'  (1811),  'Narcissus  and  Echo'  (1814),  'Dido 
and  -ZEneas,'  '  Apuleia,'  &c. 

Prior  to  this  period  (viz.  in  1807)  he  had  been  elected 
Professor  of  Perspective  at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  For 
several  years  he  delivered  lectures  to  the  students  on  the 
systems  of  pictorial  composition  adopted  by  the  great 
landscape  painters  of  earlier  times,  and  on  their  principles 
of  effect  and  colour,  as  compared  with  the  teaching  of 
nature.  He  took  great  pains  with  the  diagrams  he  pre- 
pared to  illustrate  his  lectures  ;  but  though  a  great  artist, 
Turner  had  not  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  sufficient 
mental  training  to  enable  him  to  arrange  his  thoughts,  or 
to  express  them  without  confusion  and  obscurity.  Hence 
he  failed  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  students  at  his 
ill-composed  and  ill-delivered  lectures,  which  he  discon- 
tinued for  many  years  before  he  resigned  the  professorship. 


Cn.  IX.]  J.  M.  W.   TURNER  319 

He  was,  however,  an  active  and  devoted  member  of  the 
Academy,  exemplary  in  fulfilling  his  duties  in  the  Council, 
and  as  visitor  and  auditor  feeling  for  the  institution  an 
affection,  as  he  said,  like  that  of  a  child  for  its  mother. 

A  work  by  which  Turner's  fame  has  been  widely 
extended  was  commenced  in  1808.  This  was  the  "  Liber 
Studiorum,"  undertaken  in  rivalry  to  the  book  of  sketches 
by  Claude,  published  in  aquatinta  by  Earlom,  as  the"  Liber 
Veritatis."  Turner's  sketches  were  similarly  engraved 
(the  early  ones  by  Charles  Turner,  to  whom  he  paid  eight 
guineas  for  each  plate),  and  embraced  every  variety  of 
landscape  composition,  displaying  a  close  observance  of 
nature,  and  a  variety  of  application  which  no  landscape 
painter  has  excelled.  This  work,  since  very  rare  and 
scarce,  but  recently  republished,  led  to  his  employment 
by  engravers  and  publishers  to  draw  book-illustrations ; 
and  thus  commenced  that  series  of  designs  which  have 
been  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  present  genera- 
tion. His  peculiar  colouring  leads  many  to  withhold 
admiration  from  his  paintings  ;  but  all  admit  that  his 
designs,  when  engraved,  have  a  magical  effect  of  fascina- 
tion upon  the  eye.  His  illustrations  of  the  'Southern 
Coast  Scenery,'  'England  and  Wales,'  the  'Eivers  of 
England  and  France,'  and  for  Eogers's  "Italy"  and 
"Poems,"  are  among  the  many  hundreds  of  drawings  which 
he  thus  made,  and  by  which  he  acquired  his  fortune. 

The  various  changes  in  his  style  of  painting  can  be 
traced  in  the  noble  collection  of  his  works  which  now 
form  the  "  Turner "  Gallery,  bequeathed  by  him  to  the 
nation.  The  usual  division  of  his  artistic  career  is  into 
three  periods, — the  first  reaching  to  about  his  twenty- 
seventh  year,  when  he  became  a  Eoyal  Academician,  and 
during  which  time  he  was  chiefly  occupied  with  water- 
colour  painting,  drawing  from  nature,  and  studying  the 
methods  of  his  English  predecessors, —  the  second  ex- 
tending from  1802  to  1830,  in  which  he  is  found  at  first 
to  have  followed  and  imitated  Wilson,  Claude,  Gaspar 


320  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

Poussin,  and  Salvator  Eosa, — the  third  dating  from  his 
second  visit  to  Italy,  in  1829,  when  he  determined  to  strike 
out  a  style  entirely  original,  and  in  which  he  seemed  to 
have  resolved  to  sacrifice  everything  to  the  effort  to  attain 
unrivalled  brilliancy  of  colour,  and  the  utmost  splendour 
of  light  and  effect. 

It  is  interesting  to  study  his  works  chronologically,  and 
to  mark  how,  from  time  to  time,  he  made  new  efforts  at 
further  progress,  absorbing  his  past  attainments  in  some 
fresh  attempt  to  reach  higher  ground,  and  howr  eagerly  he 
strove  to  realise  a  conception  which  his  hand,  at  the  time, 
could  not  portray.  Dr.  Waagen  has  given  a  careful  and 
accurate  opinion  of  his  powers  when  he  says  "  that  no 
landscape  painter  has  yet  appeared  with  such  versatility 
of  talent.  His  historical  landscapes  exhibit  the  most 
exquisite  feeling  for  beauty  of  hues  and  effect  of  lighting ; 
at  the  same  time  he  has  the  power  of  making  them 
express  the  most  varied  moods  of  nature, —  a  lofty  gran- 
deur, a  deep  and  moody  melancholy,  a  sunny  cheerfulness 
and  peace,  or  an  uproar  of  all  the  elements.  Buildings 
he  also  treats  with  peculiar  felicity,  while  the  sea,  in  its 
most  varied  aspects,  is  equally  subservient  to  his  magic 
brush.  His  views  of  certain  cities  and  localities  inspire 
the  spectator  with  poetic  feelings  such  as  no  other  painter 
ever  excited  in  the  same  degree,  and  which  is  principally 
attributable  to  the  exceeding  picturesqueness  of  the  point 
of  view  chosen,  and  to  the  beauty  of  the  lighting. 
Finally,  he  treats  the  most  common  little  subjects,  such  as 
groups  of  trees,  a  meadow,  a  shaded  stream,  with  such 
art  as  to  impart  to  them  the  most  picturesque  charms.  I 
should  therefore  not  hesitate  to  recognise  Turner  as  the 
greatest  landscape  painter  of  all  times,  but  for  his  de- 
ficiency in  one  indispensable  element  in  every  work  of 
art,  viz.  a  sound  technical  basis," — and,  unfortunately, 
this  is  a  serious  want,  for  many  of  his  works,  both  in  oil 
and  water-colours,  are  already  marred,  and  must  soon 
perish,  from  the  improper  and  inadequate  materials  he 


CH.   IX.]  J.   M.  W.   TURNER  321 

used,  and  his  want  of  care  in  the  preparation  of  the 
colours  with  which  he  worked.  Engraving  will  transmit 
to  posterity  some  of  his  greatness ;  but  while  by  this 
means  his  compositions  will  be  preserved,  his  magic 
colouring  will  be  lost. 

During  his  latter  days  his  colouring  became  so  eccentric 
and  extravagant,  and  the  objects  he  drew  so  indistinct  and 
void  of  form,  that  his  works  were  severely  censured ;  but 
this  fault,  always  to  a  certain  degree  existing,  was  only 
excessive  during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life 
(although  his  drawing  of  figures  was  always  defective), 
when  his  sight  was  perhaps  failing,  and  his  mind  only 
bent  upon  illustrating  his  idea  of  brilliant  effects  of 
colour.  Most  of  his  later  works  were  in  illustration  of  a 
manuscript  poem  he  wrote,  but  never  published  (except 
in  fragments  in  the  Academy  catalogues),  entitled  "  The 
Fallacies  of  Hope."  He  disdained  to  follow  any  track 
marked  out  by  others  ;  hence  he  neglected  the  dogmas  of 
the  schools,  and  became  an  unrestrained  experimentalist, 
observing  tints  and  forms  in  the  passing  clouds,  combining 
colours,  if  not  into  natural  forms,  yet  into  images  of 
gorgeous  beauty  —  and  thus  creating  types  of  realities 
rather  than  pictures  of  the  truth.  But  even  at  the  period 
when  he  began  to  indulge  in  the  wildest  of  his  artistic 
fancies,  he  painted  that  charming  picture  '  Italy  '  (1832), 
and  '  The  Old  Temeraire '  (1839),  which  are  included  in 
his  gift  to  his  countrymen. 

The  chief  collections  of  his  pictures,  exclusive  of  those 
which  are  now  public  property,  are  those  of  F.  H.  Fawkes, 
Esq.,  of  Farnley  Hall,  near  Leeds ;  H.  A.  Munro,  Esq., 
Hamilton  Place,  Piccadilly;  the  late  E.Bicknell,Esq.,  Herne 
Hill,  Camberwell ;  Lord  Egremont,  Petworth  (oil  paint- 
ings) ;  and  John  Heugh,  Esq.,  Manchester  (water-colour 
drawings).  Some  of  these  patrons  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  from  time  to  time  as  friends.  At  Lord  Egrernont's, 
at  Petworth,  he  was  fond  of  fishing  with  his  friends  Sir 
F.  Chantrey,  E.A.  and  George  Jones,  E. A.,  whom  he  used 

VOL.  I.  Y 


322  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

to  meet  there :  he  visited  Mr.  Fawkes  at  Farnley  Hall, 
and  was  a  frequent  guest  at  the  Rev.  Mr.  Trimmer's  at 
Heston  Eectory,  and  with  Mr.  Wells  the  artist  and 
many  others,  besides  being  an  especial  friend  of  the 
daughter  of  Gainsborough,  the  mother  of  Mr.  Lane,  the 
engraver ;  so  that  he  was  not  so  unsociable,  or  so  utterly 
a  recluse,  until  a  few  years  before  his  death,  as  he  is  gene- 
rally supposed  to  have  been.  On  the  contrary,  when  he 
did  go  into  society,  he  thoroughly  enjoyed  it  and  entered 
fully  into  its  spirit ;  and  used  to  delight  in  the  varnishing 
days  at  the  Academy,  because  they  gave  all  the  members 
the  opportunity  of  meeting  together  in  friendly  inter- 
course. 

Turner's  peculiarities  of  temperament,  his  unsocial 
tastes,  his  love  of  retirement,  his  simple  and  even  niggard 
life  of  seclusion  under  the  assumed  name  of  Brooks,  have 
all  been  told  and  multiplied  ;  but  if  parsimonious  in  life, 
he  was  noble-hearted  in  the  purpose  for  which  he  saved 
his  money,  and  for  which  he  bestowed  the  labour  of  his 
life.  For  when  he  died  it  was  found  that  he  had 
bequeathed  nearly  the  whole  of  his  property  (the  fruits  of 
a  long  life  of  industry)  to  the  double  purpose  of  enlarging 
the  national  collection  of  pictures  by  English  artists,  and 
of  befriending  the  members  of  his  own  profession  who 
might  fall  into  adversity. 

The  will,  dated  10th  of  June,  1831,  after  naming 
bequests  to  his  uncles  and  nephews  of  small  sums,  annui- 
ties to  his  housekeeper,  Mrs.  Danby,  and  members  of  her 
family,  bequeathed  the  rest  of  his  property  to  found  "  a 
charitable  institution  for  the  maintenance  and  support  of 
poor  and  decayed  male  artists,  born  in  England  and  of 
English  parents  only,"  a  suitable  building  to  be  provided 
in  an  eligible  place,  the  whole  to  be  under  the  control  of 
four  trustees,  two  members  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  and 
two  non-members,  after  those  specially  named  in  the 
will  —  the  institution  to  be  called  "Turner's  Gift."  A 
codicil  (20th  of  August,  1832)  determined  that  if  the 


CH.  IX.]  J.  M.  W.  TURNER  323 

amount  of  his  property  were  not  sufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose, his  pictures  should  be  kept  as  a  "  Turner  Gallery  " 
in  Queen  Anne  Street,  with  the  Danbys  as  custodians  of 
it ;  "  the  residue  to  the  Eoyal  Academy,"  on  condition  of 
their  giving  every  year  on  his  birthday,  the  23rd  of 
April,  a  dinner  to  all  the  members  not  to  cost  more  than 
£50.  He  also  bequeathed  £60  a  year  to  a  Professor  of 
Landscape  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  a  gold  medal 
worth  £20  for  the  best  landscape  every  second  or  third 
year.  A  later  codicil  (2nd  of  August,  1848)  revoked 
the  legacies  to  his  relatives,  and  gave  his  pictures  to  the 
"  National  Gallery,"  provided  "  that  a  room  or  rooms  are 
added  to  the  present  National  Gallery,  to  be  called 
'  Turner's  Gallery.' "  This  gift  was  annulled  by  a  third 
codicil,  "  if  the  gallery  be  not  built  within  ten  years  ;  " 
and  a  fourth  codicil  (1st  of  February,  1849)  orders  a 
gratuitous  exhibition  in  Queen  Anne  Street  instead, 
assigns  £1000  for  his  monument  in  St.  Paul's  ("  where  I 
desire  to  be  buried  among  my  brothers  in  art,")  gives 
annuities  of  £150  to  each  of  his  housekeepers,  £1000  to 
the  Pension  Fund  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  (including  the 
gold  medal),  £500  to  the  Artists'  Benevolent  Fund, 
£500  to  the  Foundling,  and  £500  to  the  London  Orphan 
Fund.  His  will  was  proved*  6th  of  September,  1852, 
and  the  effects  sworn  under  £140,000.  But  the  document 
was  altogether  so  unskilfully  drawn  up,  and  so  vague 
in  its  opposing  instructions,  that  a  four  years'  Chan- 
cery suit  ensued  (Trimmer  v.  Danby),  and  was  decided 
by  the  Lord  Chancellor  proposing  a  compromise,  in 
the  judgment  given  on  19th  of  March,  1856,  that  the 
Eoyal  Academy  should  receive  £20,000  free  of  legacy 
duty ;  £1000  to  the  executors  for  his  monument ;  the 
pictures  and  finished  drawings,  &c.  to  the  National  Gallery  ; 
the  real  estate  to  the  heir-at-law,  and  the  remainder  of  his 
prints  and  other  property  to  the  next  of  kin. 

The  Academy  decided  to  keep  the  fund  thus  placed 
at  their  disposal  separate  from  that  usually  applied  by 

T    2 


324  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX 

them  to  charitable  purposes,  and  to  call  it  the  "  Turner 
Fund,"  to  be  employed  for  the  relief  of  distressed  artists, 
not  members  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  but  who  from 
their  poverty  might  have  been  eligible  for  the  Turner 
Asylum  intended  to  be  established  under  his  will.  Six 
artists  have  since  annually  received  £50  each  from  this 
fund.  The  portion  of  the  fund  which  is  not  employed 
for  charitable  purposes  is  appropriated  to  the  support  of 
the  schools. 

There  were  added  to  the  national  collection  by  this  gift, 
98  finished  oil  pictures  by  Turner,  and  270  unfinished 
productions,  many  mere  canvases.  Of  the  drawings  and 
sketches,  some  on  ragged  scraps  of  paper  and  backs 
of  letters,  there  were  several  hundreds.  Many  of  the 
works  thus  made  national  property  had  been  sold  at 
the  time  they  were  painted,  but  were  afterwards  bought 
back  by  Turner  —  very  often  at  a  much  higher  price 
than  he  received.  Latterly  he  refused  to  sell  his  best 
pictures,  having  evidently  long  cherished  the  noble  pur- 
pose of  bequeathing  them  to  his  countrymen.  To  his 
friend  and  admirer,  John  Euskin,  we  owe  the  arrange- 
.  ment  and  explanation  of  many  of  his  sketches,  and 

much  information  as  to  his  life  and  works. 

, 

J     Until  the  year  1800  he  continued  to  reside  in  Hand 
'  Court,  No.  26  Maiden  Lane ;  for  the  next  twelve  years  he 
x  lived  at  64  Harley  Street,  spending  the  summer  months 
at  Hammersmith.     From  1812  till  his  death  he  occupied 
No.   47  Queen  Anne   Street  West,  which   he   rebuilt ; 
renting  also,  from  181$  to   1826,  Sandycombe  Lodge, 
Twickenham.     His  father  resided  with  him  till  his  death 
in  1830. 

He  died,  however,  in  lodgings  which  he  had  engaged 
(under  the  assumed  name  of  Brooks)  in  a  little  cottage 
by  the  river  side,  near  the  pier  of  Cremorne  Gardens  at 
Chelsea,  on  the  19th  of  December,  1851,  and  was  buried 
on  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  with  some  ceremony  and 
state,  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  by  the  side  of 


CH.  IX.]  J.   M.   W.   TURNER  325 

the  remains  of  Eeynolds,  Opie,  Fuseli,  and  other  illustrious 
predecessors  in  the  arts. 

In  person  he  was  short,  thick-set,  with  a  broad  expan- 
sive forehead,  but  a  coarse  pimply  face,  shaggy  eyebrows, 
and  thin  lips  —  there  being  little  in  his  outward  exterior 
to  indicate  the  poetic  conceptions  within.  His  house  in 
Queen  Anne  Street  was  rarely  opened — all  was  dirty,  dark, 
and  impenetrable.  In  it  was  stowed  away  the  great  mass 
of  his  productions,  many  of  which  were  found  hopelessly 
injured  by  dirt,  damp,  and  neglect.  Of  late  years  he 
would  never  consent  to  sit  for  his  portrait,  even  for  and  at 
the  cost  of  his  friends ;  but  he  painted  his  own  in  early 
life,  and  sat  to  G.  Dance  in  1800.  Twelve  years  before 
his  death,  Charles  Turner  (the  engraver  of  the  first  twenty 
prints  in  the  "Liber  Studiorum,")  contrived  to  take  a 
sketch  in  profile  which  has  been  published,  and  others 
were  taken  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  surrepti- 
tiously by  Linnell  and  Mulready.  The  portrait  sketch  by 
himself,  painted  about  1802,  forms  part  of  the  national 
collection.  A  sum  of  £1000  out  of  his  property  having 
been  appropriated  for  a  monument  to  be  erected  to  his 
memory  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Mr.  P.  M'Dowell  re- 
ceived the  commission  to  execute  it.  A  statue  in  plaster 
was  also  exhibited  in  1858  by  Mr.  Baily,  modelled  from 
personal  recollections  during  a  long-continued  acquaint- 
ance. 

His  motive  for  leaving  his  pictures  to  the  nation  has 
been  regarded  by  many  as  being  as  much  an  act  of  vanity 
as  of  munificence  ;  and  indeed  his  express  request  that  two 
pictures  he  bequeathed  should  be  hung  side  by  side  with 
the  Claudes,  which  they  were  intended  to  rival,  has  the 
appearance  of  the  former ;  not  so,  however,  his  bequest 
of  the  bulk  of  his  property  for  benevolent  purposes  to 
decayed  artists,  for  it  was  a  kind  thought  that  the  pro- 
fession to  which  he  belonged  should  reap  the  benefit  of 
a  portion  of  his  wealth.  In  the  early  part  of  his  career 
he  took  part  in  the  establishment  of  the  Artists'  General 


326  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX. 

Benevolent  Fund,  but  afterwards  seceded  from  it,  wishing 
to  accumulate  the  funds  instead  of  dispensing  them  to  ap- 
plicants, as  soon  as  they  were  acquired,  as  was  determined 
upon ;  and  doubtless  even  then  purposing  to  carry  his 
principle  into  practice  out  of  the  savings  of  his  own 
successful  career.  In  order  to  perpetuate  his  memory 
in  another  way,  by  stimulating  rising  artists  to  exertion 
in  the  same  career,  the  Eoyal  Academy  has  established 
a  gold  "  Turner  "  medal  —  in  fulfilment  of  the  wishes  of 
the  artist  —  to  be  awarded  at  the  biennial  competitions  for 
the  best  landscape  by  the  students  in  their  schools.  The 
first  thus  offered  was  obtained  by  Mr.  N.  0.  Lupton  in 
1857. 

HENEY  THOMSON,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  a  purser  in  the 
Navy,  and  was  born  at  Portsea  in  1773.  Very  little  is 
known  of  his  early  history.  He  became  a  student  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1790,  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1801,  and  E.A.  in  1804.  He  displayed  considerable 
talent  in  historical  painting,  in  which  style  of  art  he  was 
for  many  years  a  contributor  to  the  annual  exhibition. 
He  painted  '  Perdita,'  and  one  or  two  other  subjects  from 
the  "  Tempest,"  for  the  Boydell  Shakspeare  Gallery ;  but 
his  principal  work  is  '  Eurydice  borne  back  to  Pluto,'  a 
fine  composition,  full  of  power  and  beauty.  On  the 
death  of  Fuseli,  in  1825,  he  was  appointed  Keeper  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy, —  an  office  which  he  held  for  two  years 
only,  when  severe  bodily  suffering  compelled  him  to 
resign  it,  to  relinquish  his  profession,  and  to  retire  to  his 
native  place.  The  Eoyal  Academy  presented  him  with  a 
gold  snuff-box,  on  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  keeper. 

Subsequently  he  took  up  his  permanent  residence  at 
Portsea ;  and  when  afterwards  he  partially  recovered  his 
health,  he  amused  himself  with  boating,  and  making 
sketches  of  marine  subjects,  which  he  presented  as 
mementos  to  his  friends.  A  single  specimen  of  his  skill, 
but  a  very  pleasing  one,  the  '  Dead  Eobin,'  is  in  the 


CH.  IX.]  THOMSON  — OWEN  327 

Vernon  collection.  He  painted  many  fancy  pictures, — 
'Crossing  the  Brook,'  'Peasants  in  a  Storm,'  'Boys  Fishing,' 
'Love  Sheltered,'  and  'Love's  Ingratitude,'  —  several 
landscapes,  and  many  life-size  full-length  portraits.  He 
exhibited  between  sixty  and  seventy  pictures  before  ill- 
health  compelled  him  to  pass  his  later  years  in  seclusion. 
He  died  on  the  6th  of  April,  1843. 

WILLIAM  OWEN,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Ludlow,  in  Shrop- 
shire, in  1769,  and  was  educated  at  the  Grammar  School 
of  that  town.  Although  he  had  evinced  a  strong  inclina^ 
tion  for  art  in  his  youth,  he  did  not  receive  any  instruction 
in  painting  till  1786,  when  he  was  sent  to  London,  and 
placed  under  Catton,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy.  A  copy  made  by  him  from  the  Presi- 
dent's picture  of  '  Perdita '  introduced  him  to  Eeynolds, 
and  obtained  for  him  the  benefit  of  his  advice.  He 
became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1791,  and  in 
1792  he  exhibited  his  first  portraits  at  Somerset  House. 
In  every  succeeding  year  their  number  increased;  and 
although  he  had  many  eminent  competitors,  he  obtained 
considerable  patronage.  He  painted  portraits  of  William 
Pitt,  Lord  Grenville,  the  Marquis  of  Stafford,  the  Earl  of 
Bridgwater,  Sir  William  Scott,  Soane  the  architect,  and 
other  celebrated  persons,  who  were  satisfied  to  employ  an 
artist  whose  adherence  to  truth,  and  his  skill  in  painting, 
compensated  for  the  absence  of  a  more  popular  name. 
He  has  thus  been  able  to  hand  down  to  posterity  faithful 
resemblances  of  men  eminent  in  station  and  for  talent, 
whose  names  in  history  make  their  portraits  interesting  to 
all  future  ages.  Besides  portraiture,  Owen  indulged  his 
taste  in  painting  pictures  of  a  more  poetic  character. 
The  '  Girl  at  the  Spring,'  the  '  Eoadside,'  the  '  Children  in 
the  Wood,'  the  '  Cottage  Door,'  '  Venus,'  a  '  Bacchante,' 
the  '  Sleeping  Girl,'  the  '  Daughter  of  the  Beggar  of 
Bethnal  Green,'  and  other  such  titles,  are  given  to  his 
works  of  this  nature.  In  these  subjects  he  did  not  take 


328  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

so  high  a  position  as  in  portraiture,  for  his  colouring  was 
occasionally  deficient  in  transparency  and  harmony ;  but 
his  drawing  of  heads  was  exact :  he  seized  the  individual 
character,  and  never  failed  to  impress  the  image,  mental 
and  bodily,  of  his  subject. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1804,  and  in  1806  a 
Eoyal  Academician.  In  1810  he  was  appointed  "  Portrait 
Painter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,"  who,  in,  1813,  conferred 
on  him  the  altered  title  of  "  Principal  Portrait  Painter  to 
the  Prince  Eegent,"  and  added  to  it  the  offer  of  knight- 
hood, which,  however,  he  declined.  Unhappily,  during 
the  last  five  years  of  his  life  he  was  in  a  hopeless  state  of 
debility,  and  was  gradually  wasting  away,  when,  by  a 
mistake  of  a  chemist,  he  took  a  dose  of  opium,  instead  of 
the  prescribed  medicine,  fell  into  a  stupor  for  a  few 
hours,  and  died  on  the  llth  of  February,  1825.  In  1798 
he  had  married  a  Miss  Leaf,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  who, 
after  being  educated  at  Winchester  and  Oxford,  entered 
the  Church.  In  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  an  artist 
he  lived  at  5  Coventry  Street,  and  subsequently  took  a 
painting-room  in  Leicester  Square,  residing  at  Arabella 
Eow,  Pimlico,  from  whence  he  removed,  in  1818,  to 
33  Bruton  Street,  where  he  died. 

SAMUEL  WOODFOEDE,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Castle  Gary, 
Somersetshire,  in  1763,  and  was  descended  from  an  ancient 
and  respectable  family  in  that  county.  At  the  early 
age  of  fifteen,  he  was  patronised  by  the  late  Mr.  Hoare, 
of  Stourhead,  whose  elegant  villa  contained  the  first 
efforts  of  his  genius.  He  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  1782,  and  in  1786  proceeded  to  Italy,  being 
granted  an  annuity  for  the  purpose  by  his  generous  patron. 
At  Eome  he  chiefly  studied  the  works  of  Eaffaelle  and 
Michael  Angelo,  and  thus  acquired  firmness  in  design. 
Subsequently,  to  improve  his  colouring,  he  copied,  as  an 
easel  picture,  the  'Family  of  Darius,'  by  Paolo  Veronese, 
then  in  the  Pisani  Palace,  but  now  in  our  National 


CH.  IX.]  WOODFORDE  —  HOWARD  329 

Gallery.  After  visiting  Venice,  Florence,  and  other  parts 
of  Italy,  in  company  with  Sir  E.  C.  Hoare,  he  returned 
to  England  in  1791,  and  was  employed  by  Alderman 
Boydell  to  paint  the  'Forest  Scene'  in  "Titus  Andronicus." 
He  soon  attained  a  conspicuous  position  as  a  historical 
and  portrait  painter.  He  particularly  excelled  in  subjects 
of  a  sentimental  nature,  derived  from  poetry,  and  in  the 
representation  of  fanciful  characters.  Among  his  prin- 
cipal works  are  '  Calypso  lamenting  the  Departure  of 
Ulysses,'  '  Diana  and  her  Nymphs,'  a  scene  from  the  "  Lay 
of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  and  '  Charles  I.  taking  Leave  of  his 
Children,'  a  '  Spanish  Shepherd  with  his  Dog,'  a  portrait 
of  the  Earl  of  Winchelsea,  and  some  of  the  family  at 
Stourhead.  His  intense  application,  combined  with  his 
natural  genius,  rendered  the  productions  of  his  pencil 
very  correct  in  design,  and  attractive  from  their  mode  of 
treatment.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1800,  and 
E.A.  in  1807.  In  1815  he  married,  and  shortly  afterwards 
proceeded  to  Italy,  where  he  died  of  a  fever,  at  Bologna, 
on  the  27th  of  July,  1817. 

HENEY  HOWARD,  E.A.,  was  born  on  the  31st  of  January, 
176 9,  and  received  his  first  instruction  in  art  from  Philip 
Eeinagle,  with  whom  he  was  placed  as  a  pupil  at  the  age 
of  seventeen.  In  March  1788,  he  became  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  and,  as  such,  was  remarkably  success- 
ful,—  being  the  first  student  who  received  at  one  time 
(10th  of  December  1790)  the  two  highest  premiums 
awarded  —  the  first  silver  medal  for  the  best  drawing 
from  the  life,  and  the  -gold  medal  for  the  best  historical 
painting,  the  subject  selected  for  the  latter  being 
1  Caractacus  recognising  the  dead  Body  of  his  Son.'  On 
presenting  him  with  these  honours,  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds 
bestowed  special  commendation  on  his  efforts.  Thus 
encouraged,  he  proceeded  the  next  year  to  Italy,  with  an 
introduction  from  the  President  to  Lord  Hervey,  the 
British  Minister  at  Florence :  from  thence  he  went  to 


330  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

Eome,  arid  there,  in  conjunction  with  Flaxman,  pursued 
his  studies.  Deare,  a  sculptor  of  great  ability,  joined 
them  in  making  a  set  of  outlines  of  celebrated  antique 
sculptures,  each  correcting  the  other's  sketch  until  it  was 
considered  perfect,  when  it  was  traced  off.  Many  of  these 
interesting  works  remained  in  Howard's  possession  till  his 
death.  During  his  first  year  at  Eome  he  sent  a  picture  of 
the  '  Dream  of  Cain '  to  the  exhibition  ;  and  on  his  return 
to  England,  he  was  engaged  to  make  a  series  of  finished 
drawings  from  antique  sculpture  for  the  Dilettanti  Society. 
Besides  these,  he  made  designs  for  bassi-relievi,  and  groups 
to  be  worked  in  silver,  and  drew  a  large  number  of 
illustrations  to  the  works  of  the  poets  and  essayists  pub- 
lished at  the  period. 

He  came  home  by  Vienna  and  Dresden,  and  reached 
England  in  September  1794.  In  1796  he  exhibited 
'  ^Eneas  and  Anchises,'  and  the  '  Planets  drawing  Light 
.from  the  Sun,'  which  were  classic  compositions  of  great 
taste.  These  were  annually  followed,  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  by  similar  works,  all  of  the  same  academic 
character ;  although  sometimes  illustrating  Scripture, 
ancient  and  modern  history,  mythology,  and  poetry.  In 
all  his  works  the  colouring  is  chaste  and  harmonious,  the 
figures  well  drawn  and  nicely  grouped,  and  the  general 
effect  pure  and  pleasing,  without  exciting  any  decided 
emotions,  or  inspiring  admiration  of  any  original  genius 
in  the  artist. 

In  1800  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1808 
became  a  Eoyal  Academician.  In  1811  he  was  appointed 
secretary,  in  succession  to  Eichards,.and  continued  to  hold 
the  office  till  his  death.  In  1814  he  won  the  prize  for 
the  medal  of  the  Patriotic  Society,  and  was  subsequently 
employed  in  preparing  the  designs  for  the  medals  and 
great  seals  required  by  the  Government.  In  1833  he 
was  appointed  Professor  of  Painting  at  the  Academy,  and 
in  this  capacity  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  to  the 
students,  which  are  remarkable  for  the  views  they  take  of 


CH.  IX.]  HOWARD  — PHILLIPS  831 

art  in  its  higher  qualities,  for  the  clearness  with  which 
the  principles  he  lays  down  are  explained  and  established, 
for  the  elevated  sentiments  he  endeavours  to  instil  into 
the  minds  of  the  students,  and  for  the  elegance  of  the 
diction  in  which  his  instructions  are  conveyed.  In  1834, 
as  Secretary  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  Howard  gave  evidence 
before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
respecting  the  position  of  the  institution,  in  reference  to 
its  claim  to  be  kept  independent  of  public  or  Government 
control ;  and  again,  in  1836,  before  the  Select  Committee 
on  Arts  and  Manufactures,  in  which  he  showed  that  its 
resources  were  mainly  derived  from  the  labours  of  its 
own  members. 

In  1843,  when  in  his  seventy-fourth  year,  he  was  still 
so  devoted  to  art  that  when  the  Cartoon  Exhibition, 
under  the  Eoyal  Fine  Arts  Commission,  was  proposed,  he 
entered  eagerly  into  the  competition  with  his  younger 
brethren,  and  was  awarded  one  of  the  premiums  of  £100 
for  his  cartoon  representing  '  Man  Beset  by  contending 
Passions.'  Among  his  most  admired  works  were  the 
'Pleiades,'  the  'Birth  of  Venus,'  the  'Solar  System,' 
Milton's  '  Comus,'  and  the  '  Story  of  Pandora,'  some  of 
which  are  in  the  Stafford  Gallery,  and  some  in  the  Soane 
Museum.  He  occasionally  painted  portraits  and  land- 
scapes, and  was  untiringly  active  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
He  died  at  Oxford  on  the  5th  of  October,  1847.  His  son, 
Frank  Howard,  has  published  the  Lectures  delivered  by 
his  father,  with  a  memoir,  and  several  treatises  on  the 
elements  of  art,  and  is  well  known  as  an  able  designer. 
A  portrait  of  his  daughter,  in  a  Florentine  costume  (called 
a  '  Flower  Girl '),  is  in  the  Vernon  Collection. 

THOMAS  PHILLIPS,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Dudley,  in  War- 
wickshire, on  18th  October,  1770.  He  was  placed  with 
a  glass  painter  named  Edgington,  at  Birmingham,  to 
learn  that  art ;  and  having  had  some  initiatory  practice  in 
the  country,  he  came  to  London-  in  1790,  with  a  letter  of 


332  HISTOKY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

introduction  to  West,  who  found  employment  for  him  at 
Windsor  on  the  glass  painting  in  St.  George's  Chapel.  In 
1791  he  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and 
the  next  year  he  sent  to  the  exhibition  a  view  of '  Windsor 
Castle  from  the  North-east.'  In  1793  he  exhibited  two 
historical  pictures — '  The  Death  of  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, at  the  battle  of  Cassillon,'  and  'Euth  and  her 
Mother-in-law.'  These  showed  his  capabilities  as  a 
painter  in  oils,  and  were  followed  by  '  Elijah  restoring 
the  Widow's  Son ; '  '  Cupid  disarmed  by  Euphrosyne,'  and 
other  similar  works.  In  1796  he  seemed  to  have  turned 
his  attention  chiefly  to  portrait  painting  ;  and  although  he 
continued  occasionally  to  paint  historical  and  fancy  sub- 
jects, it  is  as  a  portrait  painter  that  he  has  acquired  cele- 
brity. While  Hoppner,  Owen,  Jackson,  and  Lawrence, 
and  others  of  high  repute  in  the  art,  were  his  contempo- 
raries, he  found  constant  occupation ;  and  there  were 
but  few  men  of  his  time,  eminent  in  literature  and  science, 
who  did  not  sit  to  him, — for  persons  of  talent  seem  to 
have  especially  chosen  him  as  the  painter  of  their  por- 
traits, although  he  received  but  little  Eoyal  or  noble 
patronage. 

In  1804  he  went  to  reside  at  No.  8  George  Street, 
Hanover  Square, — the  house  he  occupied  till  his  death. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  and  in  1808  he  became  an  E.A.  when 
he  presented,  as  his  diploma  picture,  '  Venus  and  Adonis.' 
He  was  appointed  Professor  of  Painting,  in  succession  to 
Euseli,  in  1825,  and  on  receiving  this  appointment  he  made 
a  journey  to  Italy,  in  company  with  Hilton,  to  gain  some 
information  necessary  to  enable  him  to  fulfil  the  duties 
of  the  office.  He  subsequently  delivered  ten  lectures  on 
the  history  and  principles  of  painting,  which  he  published 
after  he  resigned  the  professorship  in  1832.  The  first  four 
are  on  the  history  of  painting,  the  fifth  on  invention,  the 
sixth  on  design,  the  seventh  on  composition,  the  eighth 
on  colouring,  the  ninth  on  chiaroscuro,  and  the  tenth  on 


Cn.IX.]  THOMAS    PHILLIPS  333 

the  application  of  the  principles  of  painting.  These  lec- 
tures are  characterised  by  refinement  of  feeling,  more  than 
by  originality  of  thought,  are  clear  and  simple  in  their 
style,  and  instructive  in  substance  and  arrangement,  espe- 
cially when  explaining  his  views  on  the  principles  of  art. 
Many  of  his  portraits  are  of  great  interest.  Lord 
Thurlow  sat  to  him  in  1802 ;  and  in  the  same  year  he 
painted,  partly  by  stealth,  but  with  the  connivance  of 
Josephine,  and  partly  from  memory,  a  portrait  of  Napo- 
leon I.,  now  at  Petworth,  which  has  been  engraved.  He 
also  painted  portraits  of  some  of  our  own  Eoyal  Family 
— the  Prince  of  Wales  in  1806  ;  the  Duke  of  York  in 
1823  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Sussex  in  1840.  Besides  these, 
he  has  preserved  to  us  likenesses  of  Blake,  the  painter, 
1807  ;  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  the  President  of  the  Eoyal 
Society,  hi  1809  ;  two  of  Lord  Byron  in  1814 ;  Sir  F. 
Chantrey  in  1818  ;  the  poet  Crabbe,  1819  ;  Earl  Grey 
and  Lord  Brougham,  1820  ;  Major  Denham,  the  African 
traveller,  in  1826  (which  Sir  T.  Lawrence  considered 
his  best  portrait)  ;  Lord  Stowell,  Sir  E.  Parry,  and  Sir  I. 
Brunei  in  1827  ;  Sir  D.  Wilkie  in  1829  ;  Mrs.  Somerville 
and  Sir  F.  Burdett  in  1834  ;  Lord  Lyndhurst,  1836  ;  the 
Earl  of  Egremont  and  Dr.  Arnold,  1839  ;  Lord  Chief 
Justice  Tindal,  1840 ;  Dr.  Shuttleworth,  Bishop  of 
Chichester,  1842 ;  Dr.  Buckland ;  Professors  Sedgwick 
and  Faraday ;  Sir  H.  Davy ;  Hallam,  the  historian,  and 
many  others.  He  also  painted  portraits  of  Scott,  Southey, 
Coleridge,  Campbell,  and  other  literary  characters,  for 
Mr.  Murray,  the  publisher,  and  exhibited  a  few  pic- 
tures, in  a  different  style,  at  intervals, — such  as  '  Field 
Sports,'  in  1832;  'Kebecca,'  in  1833;  a  'Nymph  reposing,' 
in  1837;  and  'Flora  Mclvor,'  in  1839;  and  still  later,  the 
'  Expulsion  from  Paradise,'  now  at  Petworth.  One  of  his 
last  works  was  a  portrait  of  himself,  an  excellent  likeness. 
Besides  his  artistic  labours,  he  wrote  many  articles  on 
the  Fine  Arts,  in  Eees's  "  Cyclopedia,"  and  other  publi- 
cations, and  was  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  Artists' 


334  mSTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

General  Benevolent  Institution.  He  died  on  the  20th  of 
April,  1845,  in  his  75th  year.  He  presented  a  portrait  of 
Wilkie  to  the  National  Gallery  in  1841,  and  there  is  a 
study  of  a  '  Wood  Nymph '  by  him  in  the  Vernon  Gallery. 

Sir  AUGUSTUS  WALL  CALLCOTT,E.A.,  was  born  at  Kensing- 
ton, in  1779.  He  was  brother  to  the  celebrated  musical 
composer,  Dr.  Callcott,  and  in  early  life  officiated  in  the 
choir  of  Westminster  Abbey,  under  Dr.  Cooke.  His  taste 
seemed,  however,  to  incline  him  rather  to  follow  painting 
than  music  as  a  profession ;  but  for  some  time  he  pursued 
both  studies  together,  and  is  said  to  have  confirmed  his 
resolution  to  become  a  painter  by  his  admiration  of  some 
designs  for  "  Eobinson  Crusoe  "  by  Stothard.  He  became 
a  pupil  of  Hoppner,  the  portrait  painter,  and  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1797,  and  two  years  afterwards 
exhibited  a  portrait  he  had  painted  under  his  eminent 
master's  tuition.  A  brief  experience,  however,  showed 
him  that  that  branch  of  art  was  not  suited  to  his  abilities ; 
and  from  1803  he  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the 
practice  of  landscape  painting,  until  the  last  few  years  of 
his  life.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  1806,  and  an  Academician  in  1810.  He 
presented  a  picture,  called  'Morning,'  as  his  diploma 
work, —  a  landscape  of  great  beauty.  For  many  years 
he  annually  contributed  similar  works  to  the  exhibition. 
Generally,  his  landscapes  are  of  small  dimensions,  but  a 
few  were  of  large  size.  All  bear  the  same  characteristics, 
— extensive  views,  simple  and  tranquil  in  character, 
fascinating  to  the  refined  eye  of  the  true  lover  of  nature, 
but  too  cold  and  monotonous  in  colour  to  attract  general 
attention.  His  pictures  are  truthful  and  beautiful,  always 
pleasing,  and  very  characteristic.  His  marine  pieces  are 
especially  distinguished  by  their  soothing  and  placid 
character.  Sometimes  he  introduced  prominent  groups 
of  figures  in  his  landscapes ;  in  one,  '  Harvest  in  the 
Highlands,'  exhibited  in  1833,  the  figures  were  by  Edwin 


CH.  IX.]  SIE  A.  W.   CALLCOTT  335 

Landseer.  Subsequently  he  seems  to  have  been  ambitious 
to  change  his  style,  for  in  1837  he  exhibited  '  Eaphael 
and  the  Fornarina,'  which,  as  well  as  the  picture  just 
referred  to,  are  well  known  by  the  Art  Union  engravings 
from  them.  The  '  Eaphael '  is  so  well  drawn,  so  charac- 
teristic, and  so  full  of  the  sentiment  required  by  the 
subject,  that  it  is  a  very  remarkable  work,  when  considered 
as  the  production  of  a  landscape  painter,  and  would  almost 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  he  had  mistaken  his  forte,  were 
it  not  for  the  truth  and  beauty  of  nature  which  he 
imparts  to  his  scenery.  Yet  there  are  no  peculiarities  in 
his  landscapes  ;  they  represent  things  as  they  are  under 
ordinary  circumstances, — the  effects  of  light,  shadow,  and 
colour  are  all  true,  the  sky  calm,  the  scene  peaceful,  the 
sea  or  the  river  reposing,  with  just  enough  of  poetic 
treatment  to  keep  the  subject  strictly  truthful,  and  yet  to 
present  nature  in  her  happiest  guise.  It  is  these  charac- 
teristics which  have  obtained  for  him  the  title  of  the 
"English  Claude." 

In  1840  he  exhibited  another  work  in  the  same  style 
as  the  '  Eaphael,' — '  Milton  dictating  to  his  Daughters,'  a 
composition  of  such  an  ordinary  nature  that  it  showed 
that  his  true  powers  were  not  in  history,  but  as  a  landscape 
painter,  and  as  such  he  will  always  take  a  high  place. 
In  1827  he  was  married  to  the  widow  of  Captain 
Graham,  E.N., —  a  lady  who  had  previously  been  known 
as  an  authoress,  and  who  published  in  1836  her  "  Essays 
towards  the  History  of  Painting."  In  1837  Callcott 
received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from  the  Queen ;  and 
in  1844  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Seguier  as  Con- 
servator of  the  Eoyal  Pictures,  an  office  which  he  held 
for  a  few  months  only.  He  had  a  quiet,  reserved  manner, 
but  was  social  and  hospitable  in  feeling.  Admired  for 
his  talents  as  an  artist,  and  respected  for  his  estimable 
private  character,  he  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  way 
till  1842,  when  Lady  Callcott  died ;  and  on  the  25th  of 
November,  1844,  he  also  departed  this  life  at  Kensington, 


836  HISTORY   OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [Cn.  IX. 

in  his  65th  year,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  grave  with 
her  at  Kensal  Green  Cemetery,  where  a  flat  table-tomb 
marks  the  site.  There  is  a  large  number  of  his  works 
in  the  Vernon  and  Sheepshanks  collections. 

Sir  DAVID  WILKIE,  E.A.,  one  of  Scotland's  most  famous 
artists,  was  the  third  son  of  David  Wilkie,  minister  of 
Cults,  and  Isabella  Lister,  his  third  wife.  He  was  born 
at  his  father's  manse,  on  the  banks  of  Eden-water,  in 
Fifeshire,  on  the  18th  of  November,  1785.  He  has  been 
heard  to  say  that  he  could  draw  before  he  could  read,  and 
paint  before  he  could  spell.  When  seven  years  of  age, 
he  was  sent  to  the  school  of  Pitlissie,  but  he  learnt  little 
or  nothing  there.  In  his  twelfth  year  he  was  placed 
under  Dr.  Strachan,  then  master  of  the  Grammar  School 
of  Kettle  (now  Bishop  of  Toronto) ;  but  he  paid  little 
attention  to  anything  but  drawing.  After  an  ineffectual 
attempt  to  make  him  a  minister,  he  was  sent,  in  1799,  to 
the  Trustees'  Academy,  at  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  at 
first  refused  admission,  but,  by  the  interest  of  the  Earl  of 
Leven,  afterwards  obtained  it.  At  this  school  Wilkie 
became  acquainted  with  Sir  W.  Allan,  John  Burnet,  and 
Alexander  Eraser.  Burnet  writes  of  him  that  "  though 
behind  in  skill,  he,  however,  surpassed  —  and  that  from 
the  first  —  all  his  companions  in  comprehending  the 
character  of  whatever  he  was  set  to  draw."  In  1803  he 
won  the  ten-guinea  premium  offered  by  the  Trustees' 
Academy  for  the  best  painting  of '  Callisto  in  the  Bath  of 
Diana.'  In  the  same  year  he  made  the  sketch  for  the 
'  Village  Politicians.' 

0 

In  1804  he  returned  home,  and  painted  for  Kinnear  of 
Kinloch  his  picture  of  '  Pitlissie  Fair,'  in  which  he  inserted 
about  140  figures,  mostly  portraits,  and  many  of  them 
sketched  while  he  was  at  church.  For  this  picture  he 
received  only  £25.  At  this  time  he  also  painted  many 
small  portraits  and  miniatures.  His  success  induced  him 
to  visit  London,  and  he  took  a  lodging  at  No.  11  Norton 


CH.IX.}  SIR  D.  WILKIE  337 

Street.  In  1805  lie  obtained  admission  as  a  student  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy.  His  picture  of  The  Village  Eecruit' 
was  exhibited  in  a  shop  window  at  Charing  Cross ;  and 
being  marked  at  the  low  price  of  £6,  it  soon  found  a  pur- 
chaser. Mr.  Stodart,  the  pianoforte-maker,  was  Wilkie's 
first  patron  in  London.  He  saj  to  him  for  his  portrait, 
commissioned  him  to  paint  two  pictures,  and  helped  him 
to  a  valuable  connection.  The  Earl  of  Mansfield,  to 
whom  he  was  introduced  by  Stodart,  commissioned  him 
to  paint  '  The  Village  Politicians,'  for  doing  which  he 
requested  fifteen  guineas.  It  was  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  1806,  excited  universal  admiration,  and  £100 
was  offered  by  two  parties  for  it.  Wilkie,  however,  kept 
his  engagement  with  Lord  Mansfield,  who  gave  him  thirty 
guineas  for  the  picture.  In  1807  he  was  living  at  Sol's 
Eow,  Hampstead  Eoad,  where  he  painted  the  '  Blind 
Fiddler,'  which,  when  exhibited,  at  once  established  his 
reputation.  It  was  purchased  by  Sir  George  Beaumont, 
and  is  now  in  the  National  collection.  Commissions  were 
now  abundant,  from  Mr.  Whitbread,  Lord  Mulgrave,  and 
Sir  G.  Beaumont,  and  he  painted  in  succession  '  Alfred,' 
'  The  Card  Players,'  and  ' The  Eent  Day.'  In  1807-8  he 
produced  'The  sick  Lady,'  'The  Jew's  Harp,'  and  'The  Cut 
Finger.'  After  these  came  the  sketch  of  'Eeading  the 
Will,'  'The  Wardrobe  ransacked,'  'The  Gamekeeper,'  and 
'The  Village  Festival,'  aU  painted  in  1809-11. 

In  1809  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1811  he 
became  a  Eoyal  Academician.  At  this  time  his  weakly 
constitution  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  seek  the  bene- 
fit of  his  native  air.  He  visited  Scotland  in  August  1811, 
and  after  his  return  established  himself  at  No.  24  Lower 
Phillimore  Place,  Kensington.  In  1812  he  collected  his 
pictures  for  exhibition  at  87  Pall  Mall :  there  were  twenty- 
nine  in  all,  including  sketches,  but  the  expenses  were  £414, 
and  the  receipts  altogether  insufficient  to  cover  them. 
After  this  time  other  pictures  followed,  now  familiar  to 
all  —  'Bhndman's  Buff,'  in  1813;  'The  Letter  of  Intro- 

VOL.  i.  z 


338  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

duction,'  and  '  Duncan  Gray,'  in  1814  ;  *  Distraining  for 
Kent,'  purchased  by  the  British  Institution  for  600  guineas, 
in  1815;  and  'The  Eabbit  on  the  Wall,'  in  1816. 
Several  others  intervened  between  these  and  '  The  Bead- 
ing of  the  Will,'  painted  in  1820  for  the  King  of  Bavaria, 
and  '  Chelsea  Pensioners  Eeading  the  Gazette  of  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo,'  painted  in  1822,  being  a  commission 
from  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  for  which  he  received 
£1200  from  the  Duke,  and  £1200  from  Alderman 
Moon  for  the  copyright  of  the  engraving. 

In  1814  he  went  with  Hay  don  to  Paris,  to  study  the 
spoils  of  the  churches  and  galleries  of  the  Continent, 
collected  together  at  the  Louvre  by  Napoleon  I.  In  1816 
he  accompanied  Eaimbach  the  engraver  to  Holland  and 
Belgium,  and  in  1817  visited  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  he 
painted  an  interesting  picture  of  him  and  his  family.  A 
continued  course  of  prosperity  was  interrupted  in  1825  by 
the  loss  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  a  speculation 
in  which  Wilkie  had  unfortunately  engaged.  This  seri- 
ously affected  his  health,  and  some  fears  were  entertained 
for  his  mental  faculties.  He  was  advised  to  travel,  and  to 
abstain  altogether  from  painting  for  a  time.  He  accord- 
ingly left  England  in  the  summer  of  1826  on  a  long 
Continental  tour,  including  Paris,  Switzerland,  Vienna, 
Dresden,  Eome,  and  Madrid,  and  he  remained  abroad  till 
1828.  The  Spanish  school  evidently  strongly  impressed 
him,  for  henceforward  his  style  completely  changed  its 
character,  —  no  longer  the  simple,  unaffected  painter  of 
English  domestic  life,  he  now  depicted  Spanish  monks, 
guerillas,  peasants,  battle  scenes,  &c.,  which,  while  they 
manifested  his  ambition  to  excel  in  representing  historic 
scenes  as  well  as  those  of  common  life,  by  which  he  had 
acquired  his  fame,  certainly  did  not  enhance  his  reputa- 
tion, although  many  of  them  displayed  great  ability. 
The  regret  at  the  change  was  almost  universal,  although 
with  some  his  new  style  found  attractions.  One  confessed 
object  of  Wilkie  in  this  change  of  style  was  to  obtain 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  D.  WILKIE  339 

rapidity  in  painting,  an  effort  which  is  showing  its  fruits 
in  the  rapid  decay  of  his  later  pictures,  while  the  earlier 
ones  are  still  in  excellent  preservation. 

His  principal  pictures  in  his  second  style  are  'The 
Maid  of  Saragossa,'  '  The  Guerilla's  Departure  and  Ee- 
turn,'  '  Spanish  Monks,'  '  Columbus,'  '  John  Knox  Preach- 
ing,' '  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  escaping  from  Loch  Leven,' 
'  Cellini  and  the  Pope,'  '  The  Irish  Whiskey  Still,'  and 
several  portraits  in  the  manner  of  Velasquez.  In  1823  he 
was  appointed  limner  to  the  King  in  Scotland,  in  succes- 
sion to  Sir  H.  Eaeburn ;  and  in  1830,  on  the  death  of 
Lawrence,  he  became  Painter  in  Ordinary  to  George  IV., 
whose  portrait  he  took  in  a  highland  costume.  In  1836 
he  was  knighted  by  William  IV.,  and  afterwards  removed 
to  a  more  spacious  house  in  Vicarage  Place,  Kensington. 
On  the  accession  of  the  Queen,  he  painted  a  picture  of 
'  Her  Majesty's  First  Council,'  and  had  also  a  few  sittings 
for  the  Queen's  portrait.  Her  Majesty  suggested  that  he 
should  paint  the  portrait  of  the  Sultan  for  her.  He 
accordingly  proceeded  to  Constantinople,  making  many 
interesting  sketches  of  Oriental  life.  He  visited  Jerusalem, 
and  other  celebrated  localities  in  the  East,  and  when 
returning  in  the  "  Oriental "  steamer,  was  seized  with  ill- 
ness between  Alexandria  and  Gibraltar,  which  in  a  few 
hours  terminated  fatally  on  the  1st  of  June,  1841.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  his  body  was  committed  to  the 
deep,  the  burial  service  being  read  by  the  Eev.  J. 
Vaughan^  rector  of  Wraxall,  who  was  a  passenger  on 
board.  This  touching  scene  formed  the  subject  of  a  pic- 
ture by  Turner,  in  the  National  Collection.  A  marble 
statue  by  Joseph  was  erected  by  public  subscription,  and 
placed  in  the  National  Gallery.  It  may  have  resembled 
him  in  his  youth,  but  it  is  not  very  like  what  he  was  in 
later  years,  either  in  stature  or  character.  In  the  National 
Collections  there  are  (besides  'The  Blind  Fiddler')  '  The 
Village  Festival,'  'The  Parish  Beadle,'  'The  Bagpiper,' 
'  The  First  Ear-ring,'  a  portrait  of  Thomas  Daniell,  E.A., 

z  2 


340  IHSTOKY  OF  THE   EOYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

a  Woody  Landscape,  '  Newsmongers,'  '  Peep-o'-Day  Boy's 
Cabin,'  '  The  Broken  Jar,'  '  Duncan  Gray,'  and  several 
drawings  and  sketches. 

No  description  is  needed  of  Wilkie's  works  —  all  of  his 
earlier  and  most  popular  ones  have  been  repeatedly 
engraved,  and  are  known  and  appreciated  where  those  of 
the  great  masters  of  Italy  have  never  found  an  entrance. 
In  his  later  works  —  so  dissimilar  to  his  first  that  they 
might  as  well  be  the  productions  of  a  different  head  and 
hand  —  he  laboured  to  attain  effect  in  colour  and  chiaro- 
scuro, combined  with  breadth  and  facility  in  execution  ; 
conceiving  that  these  were  a  nearer  approach  to  high  art 
than  the  simplicity,  truth,  and  laborious  detail  and  finish 
which  characterised  his  early  pictures,  the  charm  of  which 
consisted  in  the  forcible  and  impressive  mannerin which  he 
delineated  human  life  in  various  phases,  so  as  to  awaken  the 
sympathies  of  the  beholder,  and  to  incite  him  to  share  the  joy 
or  the  sorrow  of  those  whose  history  was  so  effectively  told 
on  his  canvas.  In  personal  character,  Wilkie  merited  all 
the  respect  and  honour  he  attained  ;  —  he  was  upright  and 
straightforward,  modest,  yet  full  of  moral  courage,  patient 
and  determined  in  study,  cherishing  enduring  friendships, 
and  appreciating  the  beautiful  both  in  nature  and  art. 

JAMES  WAKD,  E.A.,  was  born  in  Thames  Street,  in 
London,  on  23rd  of  October,  1769.  When  he  was  seven 
years  old  he  was  taken  from  school,  in  consequence  of 
untoward  family  circumstances,  and  at  twelve  was  sent  to 
join  an  elder  brother,  William  Ward  (who  was  articled  to 
J.  E.  Smith,  a  mezzotint  engraver),  who  did  not  help  him 
to  draw,  but  employed  him  chiefly  as  an  errand-boy. 
He,  however,  managed  on  bits  of  paper  to  draw  with 
chalk,  and  after  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  nine  years 
to  engraving  (seven  and  a  half  with  his  brother  and  one 
and  a  half  with  Smith)  an  accident  led  to  his  trying  his 
hand  at  painting.  A  picture  of  Copley's  was1  injured 
while  in  his  brother's  charge  for  engraving,  and  James 


CH.  IX.]  JAMES  WARD  841 

Ward  volunteered  to  repair  it.  Succeeding  in  this,  he 
tried  to  paint  a  picture  on  canvas,  and  subsequently  care- 
fully studied  the  works  of  George  Morland  (with  whom 
his  family  was  on  intimate  terms,  and  who  lived  with 
them  at  this  time  at  Kensal  Green),  and  so  closely  imitated 
his  manner,  that  the  dealers  bought  his  pictures  at  a  low 
price,  and  after  signing  them  with  Morland's  name,  sold 
them  at  a  much  higher  rate.  Competent  judges  declared 
that  Ward's  pictures  had  better  qualities  than  those  of 
Morland,  and  that  those  who  were  thus  deceived  were 
gainers  by  the  fraud.  These  works  were  exported  largely 
to  Ireland  and  France. 

A  picture  of  a  '  Bull-bait,'  painted  in  his  early  career, 
was  well  hung  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  being  full  of 
figures,  attracted  great  attention :  but  Ward  heard  the 
visitors  remark,  "  That  is  by  a  pupil  of  Morland ; "  and 
from  that  time  he  determined  to  pursue  a  more  distinct 
and  original  style,  and  his  study  of  anatomy  under 
Brooks  gave  him  power  to  realise  works  of  a  much  higher 
character.  His  first  commission  was  to  engrave  Sir 
William  Beechey's  'Eeview.'  One  of  his  plates  from 
Eembrandt's  '  Cornelius  the  Centurion,'  is  especially 
prized  by  collectors.  In  1794  he  was  appointed  painter 
and  engraver  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  for  many  years 
was  chiefly  employed  in  painting  portraits  of  favourite 
animals.  He  afterwards  sought  to  become  an  Associate  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy ;  but  being  principally  known  as  an 
engraver,  he  did  not  at  first  succeed,  as  he  wished  to  be 
entered  as  a  painter,  that  he  might  eventually  rise  to  be  a 
Eoyal  Academician.  He  therefore  surrendered  the  fair 
prospects  of  a  popular  engraver  for  the  future  fame  of  a 
painter,  and  this  at  a  time  when  he  was  earning  £2000 
a  year  with  the  burin.  At  the  suggestion  of  West 
and  Sir  G.  Beaumont,  he  painted  several  large  pictures 
to  make  known  his  skill  in  that  higher  branch  of  art : 
these  were  'The  Horse  and  Serpent,'  life  size,  'Deer- 
stalking,' '  Bulls  Fighting,'  and  '  The  Fall  of  Photon.' 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  IX. 

He  at  last  succeeded  in  establishing  his  claims  to  the 
title  of  painter,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1807,  and 
a  Eoyal  Academician  in  1811.  Many  commissions  from 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  folio  wed,  and  when,  after  the  battle 
of  Waterloo,  the  British  Institution  offered  a  premium  of 
£1000  for  a  design  commemorative  of  the  victory,  Ward 
sent  in  a  sketch  to  which  the  first  premium  was  awarded. 
From  it  a  national  picture  was  painted  for  Chelsea  Hos- 
pital. It  was  an  allegory,  and  when  exhibited  at  the 
Egyptian  Hall  was  very  severely  censured  by  the  public. 
At  that  time,  however  (1820),  the  trial  of  Queen  Caro- 
line absorbed  public  attention,  and  the  interest  in  the 
great  victory  had  passed  away  ;  the  exhibition  was  sud- 
denly closed,  and  the  picture  was  subsequently  hung  up  at 
Chelsea  Hospital,  but  eventually  it  was  taken  down  and 
rolled  up,  in  which  state  it  has  been  left  ever  since.  Its 
dimensions  were  35  feet  by  26  feet. 

Following  up  this  fanciful  idea,  Ward  next  painted 
religious  allegories  —  '  The  Star  of  Bethlehem,'  '  The 
Triumph  over  Sin,  Death,  and  Hell,'  '  The  Angel  troubling 
the  Pool  of  Bethesda,'  &c.,  none  of  which  were  favour- 
ably received,  although  his  scenes  of  animal  and  rustic 
life,  intermingled  with  these  more  venturesome  works, 
still  displayed  the  abilities  of  the  artist.  In  1822  he 
painted  a  picture  in  avowed  rivalry  with  the  famous  Paul 
Potter  — '  The  Bull,  Cow,  and  Calf '  (now  at  the  Crystal 
Palace).  A  subsequent  work,  '  The  Council  of  Horses,' 
is  a  fine  specimen  of  his  skill  in  that  particular  style  in 
which  he  most  exceUed.  This,  and  another  fine  picture, 
his  '  View  in  De  Tabley  Park,'  are  in  the  Vernon  Gallery. 
Three  smaller  specimens  are  in  the  Sheepshanks  Collec- 
tion. He  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  continued  almost  to 
the  last  to  employ  his  pencil,  with  no  abatement  of  spirit, 
though  with  enfeebled  powers.  In  1855  he  exhibited  for 
the  last  time  at  the  Eoyal  Academy — (he  was  then  eighty- 
six) — a  picture  entitled  '  The  Morning  Grey,  with  Cattle 
of  different  breeds.' 


CH.  EL]  WARD  — BONE  343 

He  died,  in  his  91st  year,  on  the  17th  of  November, 
1859.  He  possessed  undoubted  talents  as  an  artist, 
although  he  sometimes  attempted  subjects  beyond  his 
grasp  ;  he  was  simple  and  unpretending  in  manner,  and  a 
sincerely  religious  man.  The  personal  history  of  many 
artists  is  linked  with  his  — for  he  was  the  contemporary  of 
many  of  the  founders  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  was  brother- 
in-law  of  George  Morland,  father-in-law  of  Jackson  the 
portrait  painter,  and  father  of  Mr.  G.  E.  Ward  the  mezzo- 
tint engraver,  whose  daughter  married  E.  M.  Ward,  E.A., 
and  is  herself  an  artist  of  great  ability. 

HENRY  BOXE,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  a  cabinet-maker  at 
Truro,  in  Cornwall,  and  was  born  there  on  the  6th  of 
February,  1755.  He  was  apprenticed  to  a  china-manufac- 
turer named  Cockworthy,  first  at  Plymouth  and  then  at 
Bristol,  who  employed  him  in  painting  landscapes  and 
groups  of  flowers  to  ornament  porcelain,  and  in  making 
them  indelible  by  the  operation  of  fire.  This  was  his 
introduction  to,  and  training  for,  that  art  of  enamel  paint- 
ing in  which  he  became  so  eminent.  In  August  1778  he 
removed  to  London,  and  earned  a  subsistence  by  making 
devices  for  lockets,  &c.,  and  painting  miniatures  in  water- 
colours.  Meanwhile  he  studied  to  attain  perfection  in 
the  art  of  enamel ;  and,  as  a  first  specimen  in  that  style, 
painted  'The  Sleeping  Girl'  after  Sir  J.  Eeynolds.  A 
portrait  of  his  wife,  in  the  same  style,  exhibited  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1780,  and  an  original  picture  in 
enamel,  5^  inches  by  4J,  were  among  the  first  works  by 
which  he  acquired  a  name  as  an  artist.  An  enamel  por- 
trait of  the  Earl  of  Eglinton  by  him  was  purchased  by 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  continued  to  copy,  on  a  scale 
hitherto  unattained  in  enamel,  some  of  Eeynolds's  choicest 
works  ;  among  these  were  '  The  Death  of  Dido,'  '  Cymon 
and  Iphigenia,'  '  Venus,'  and  '  Hope  nursing  Love.' 
Besides  these,  he  copied  '  The  Venus  recumbent,'  after 
Titian ;  '  Bathsheba,'  by  N.  Poussin ;  '  La  Belle  Vierge,' 


344  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

after  Eaphael ;  and  an  '  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,'  after 
Murillo.  A  work  which  excited  great  admiration  was  a 
copy  of  the  '  Bacchus  and  Ariadne,'  by  Titian  (now  in 
the  National  Gallery),  copied  in  dimensions  never  ap- 
proached by  any  other  enamel  painter,  18  by  16  inches. 
Mr.  G.  Bowles,  of  Cavendish  Square,  paid  2200  guineas 
for  this  work.  Bone  also  executed  on  enamel  many  of 
his  own  miniatures,  and  a  series  of  portraits  of  the 
Eussell  family  from  the  time  of  Henry  VII.,  now  at 
Woburn  Abbey — a  commission  from  the  late  Duke  of 
Bedford  ;  also  a  series  of  portraits  of  the  principal  royal- 
ists distinguished  during  the  civil  war,  for  J.  P.  Ord,  Esq., 
of  Edge  Hill,  near  Derby,  some  of  which  were  completed 
after  his  death  by  his  talented  son,  H.  P.  Bone.  The 
work  which  will  give  him  lasting  fame,  is  the  series  of 
eighty-five  portraits  of  distinguished  persons  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  which  he  enamelled  from  the  ori- 
ginals in  the  Eoyal  and  other  collections,  varying  in  size 
from  4  to  13  inches.  They  cost  him  infinite  labour, 
care,  and  anxiety,  but  unfortunately  he  reaped  no  pecu- 
niary reward  from  his  labour  upon  them  ;  they  remained 
in  his  possession  till  his  death,  when  he  requested  that 
they  might  be  offered  to  the  Government  at  the  small 
price  of  £5000,  or  half  their  estimated  value.  The  pur- 
chase was,  however,  declined,  much  to  the  regret  of  all 
true  lovers  of  art,  and  a  collection  which  would  have  had 
a  permanent  value,  as  illustrating  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing periods  of  English  history,  was  dispersed  by  auction, 
and  will  now  be  found  scattered  in  the  cabinets  of  col- 
lectors who  prefer  what  is  beautiful  to  that  which  is 
merely  curious. 

In  1800,  Bone  received  the  distinction  of  being  ap- 
pointed enamel  painter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  arid  he 
was  successively  appointed  to  the  same  office  by  George 
III.,  George  IV.,  and  William  IV.  He  became  an  Asso- 
ciate in  1801,  and  a  Eoyal  Academician  in  1811.  For  the 
next  twenty-one  years  of  his  life  he  continued  to  pursue 


CH.  IX.]  REINAGLE  — DAWE  845 

his  art  with  untiring  perseverance,  and  became  the  most 
distinguished  enamel  painter  of  his  time.  In  1831  he 
was  compeUed  by  age  to  relinquish  the  pursuit,  and  he 
died  on  the  17th  of  December,  1834,  in  his  78th  year. 
He  resided  at  15  Berners  Street,  Oxford  Street. 

PHILIP  EEINAGLE,  E.A.,  was  born  in  1749,  and  was  a 
pupil  of  Allan  Eamsay,  the  Court  painter,  under  whom 
he  studied  portraiture,  a  specimen  of  which  he  exhibited 
in  1776  ;  but  not  finding  it  a  congenial  employment,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  animals,  and  suc- 
ceeded admirably  in  depicting  hunting  subjects,  sporting 
dogs,  shaggy  ponies,  and  dead  game.  Besides  these  ori- 
ginal works,  he  was  an  excellent  copyist  of  the  old  Dutch 
masters,  and  many  small  pictures  after  Paul  Potter,  Berg- 
hem,  A.  Vandervelde,  Du  Jardin,  and  others,  now  regarded 
as  originals  by  those  artists,  were  made  by  him.  He  was 
also  a  landscape  painter,  and  assisted  Barker  in  painting 
his  panoramas  of  Rome,  the  Bay  of  Naples,  Florence, 
Gibraltar,  Algesiras  Bay,  and  Paris.  His  reputation, 
however,  rests  chiefly  on  his  sporting  subjects,  and  his 
skill  is  popularly  known  by  the  publication  of  "The  Sports- 
man's Cabinet,  or  correct  delineations  of  the  various  Dogs 
used  in  the  Sports  of  the  Field,  taken  from  life,  and  en- 
graved by  John  Scott."  Reinagle  became  a  student  at  the 
Royal  Academy  in  1769;  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1787,  and  a  Royal  Academician  in  1812.  He  died  at 
Chelsea  on  the  27th  of  November,  1833,  aged  84. 

GEORGE  DAWE,  R.A.,  was  born  in  Brewer  Street,  Golden 
Square,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1781.  His  father,  Philip 
Dawe,  an  engraver,  appears  to  have  brought  him  up  to 
the  same  profession,  as  he  is  known  to  have  executed  in 
mezzotint,  when  only  fourteen  years  old,  engravings  after 
Graham  of  '  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,'  and  '  Elizabeth  and 
St.  John,'  besides  several  other  works.  With  the  engraving 
of  the  monumental  group  to  the  Marquis  of  Cornwallis 


346  HISTORY   OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

by  Bacon,  executed  when  he  was  twenty-one,  Dawe  seems 
to  have  altogether  abandoned  this  branch  of  the  art, 
though  his  productions  indicate  that  he  would  have  taken 
no  mean  position  among  engravers,  had  he  continued  to 
pursue  it.  In  early  life  he  had  been  apprenticed  to  a 
painter  in  crayons,  the  father  of  the  celebrated  George 
Morland.  With  this  latter  artist  he  then  commenced  a 
friendship  which  continued  undiminished  through  all 
the  changes  and  trials  of  their  after  lives.  In  1794, 
Dawe  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  not 
satisfied  with  studying  from  the  living  model  there,  he 
attended  the  public  lectures  on  anatomy,  and  practised 
dissection  at  home.  He  studied  moral  philosophy  and 
metaphysics,  and  later  in  life  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
the  French,  German,  and  Eussian  languages.  In  1803 
he  obtained  the  gold  medal  awarded  by  the  Academy 
for  the  best  historical  painting,  the  subject  being 
'  Achilles.'  In  1807  he  published  a  "  Life  of  Morland," 
the  friend  of  his  youth,  the  only  work  written  by  him 
which  has  issued  from  the  press,  although  he  left  in  MS. 
at  his  decease  an  Essay  on  Colours,  and  several  other 
similar  performances. 

Dawe's  talents  were  principally  displayed  in  the  paint- 
ing of  portraits, —  one  of  which,  a  whole-length  of  Mrs. 
White,  the  wife  of  an  eminent  surgeon,  exhibited  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1809,  elicited  great  praise ;  in  the 
same  year  he  was  elected  an  Associate.  In  1810  ap- 
peared '  Andromache  imploring  Ulysses  to  spare  her  Son.' 
In  1814  he  became  a  Eoyal  Academician,  and  on  that 
occasion  presented  '  The  Demoniac'  as  his  diploma  work. 
Among  the  portraits  he  painted  about  this  time,  that  of 
Miss  O'Neil  in  the  character  of  Juliet  (which,  being  too 
late  for  the  Eoyal  Academy,  was  exhibited  at  his  house  in 
Newman  Street),  attracted  especial  attention ;  and  the 
groups  of  Mrs.  Hammersley  and  her  child,  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
mot  and  her  daughter,  as  well  as  the  portrait  of  Coleridge 
the  poet,  were  also  much  admired.  His  historical  pic- 


CH.  IX.]  GEORGE  DAWE  347 

tures  were  not  numerous,  but  were  all  of  considerable 
pretensions.  The  first  he  is  known  to  have  painted  was 
'  Achilles  frantic  for  the  loss  of  Patroclus,'  the  work  by 
which  he  won  the  Eoyal  Academy  gold  medal.  A 
scene  from  "  Cymbeline "  procured  for  him  the  highest 
premium,  200  guineas,  offered  by  the  British  Institution 
for  the  subject.  '  Naomi  and  her  Daughter,'  '  The  Infant 
Hercules  strangling  the  Serpent,'  and  a  picture  from  Cole- 
ridge's "  Genevieve "  followed  in  the  same  style.  The 
'  Negro  and  the  Buffalo,'  purchased  by  Mr.  Holford,  ob- 
tained the  first  premium  at  the  British  Institution,  where 
it  was  exhibited  in  1811.  The  last  work  of  this  class 
he  painted  was  seen  at  the  Academy,  and  excited  con- 
siderable interest,  both  from  the  nature  of  the  subject 
and  the  treatment  of  it.  This  picture  was,  '  The  Mother 
rescuing  her  Child  from  an  Eagle's  Nest,'  and  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Earl  of  Cassilis.  It  is  said  that  Dawe 
made  a  tour  in  the  Highlands  and  in  Cumberland,  taking 
his  canvas  with  him,  in  order  that  his  representation 
of  this  scene  might  be  a  truthful  one. 

He  was  now  destined  for  employment  both  by  the 
Court  of  England  and  the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  and  his 
name  and  works  thus  became  associated  with  the  events 
then  taking  place  in  Europe,  which  will  always  have  an 
enduring  place  in  history.  Soon  after  the  marriage  of 
the  Princess  Charlotte  with  Prince  Leopold,  Dawe  was 
honoured  with  their  patronage,  and  painted  several  por- 
traits of  the  Royal  couple  in  all  varieties  of  costume. 
After  the  death  of  the  lamented  Princess  he  obtained  the 
patronage  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  went  in 
the  suite  of  his  Royal  Highness  to  Brussels,  and  thence  to 
the  grand  review  of  the  allied  troops  at  Cambray,  where, 
and  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  he  painted  portraits  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  Lord  Hill,  and  several  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Russian  officers.  At  this  time  he  was  engaged 
by  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  proceed  to  St.  Petersburg 
to  paint  a  collection  of  portraits  of  all  the  eminent  Russian 


348  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL   ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

officers  who  had  taken  part  in  the  recent  war  with  Napo- 
leon. He  returned  to  England  for  a  short  time,  and  set  out 
on  this  undertaking  in  January  1819.  On  the  way,  he 
stopped  at  Brussels,  where  he  painted  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Orange ;  at  Coburg,  where  he  made  a  por- 
trait of  the  reigning  Duke  ;  and  at  Weimar,  where  Goethe 
sat  to  him,  as  well  as  the  Grand  Duke  of  Meinengen,  and 
the  Emperor's  sister.  He  reached  St.  Petersburg  in  the 
course  of  the  summer,  and  at  once  commenced  his 
arduous  undertaking.  Nine  years  were  occupied  in  paint- 
ing some  four  hundred  portraits  of  Eussian  officers.  For 
the  reception  of  this  grand  series,  a  gallery  was  espe- 
cially erected  at  the  Winter  Palace,  which  was  first  con- 
secrated, and  then  opened  publicly  by  the  Emperor, 
attended  by  his  chief  officers  of  state.  In  addition  to 
this  great  national  work,  Dawe  painted  several  portraits 
of  the  Emperor  and  of  the  members  of  the  Imperial 
family,  many  of  the  illustrious  persons  of  the  empire  as 
well  as  private  individuals,  and  made  copies  of  several  of 
the  military  portraits.  In  order  that  the  chief  of  his 
numerous  portraits  might  be  engraved,  he  induced  Mr. 
Thomas  Wright  and  Mr.  C.  E.  WagstafF  to  accompany 
him,  and  after  their  return  to  England  he  remained  for 
some  years  at  St.  Petersburg,  busily  employed  and 
amassing  wealth,  till  the  sudden  death  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander  deprived  him  of  his  liberal  patron  and  power- 
ful protector.  Dawe  then  received  peremptory  orders  to 
quit  Eussia,  which  he  did  at  great  loss  and  personal  incon- 
venience, on  account  of  the  short  time  allowed  him  to 
arrange  his  affairs.  After  his  return  to  England  in  1828, 
he  exhibited  many  of  his  later  works  to  George  IV.  at 
Windsor.  In  September  of  the  same  year  he  proceeded 
to  Berlin,  where  he  painted  portraits  of  the  King  of 
Prussia  and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  On  his  way  from 
that  city  to  St.  Petersburg,  he  caught  a  severe  cold  ; 
and  in  the  spring  of  1829,  after  accompanying  the  Em- 
peror Nicholas  to  Warsaw,  and  there  painting  the  por- 


CH.  IX.]  DAWE  — BIGG  849 

trait  of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino,  he  proceeded  by 
medical  advice  to  the  sulphur  baths  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
In  August  1829,  he  returned  to  England,  but  he  gra- 
dually sunk,  and  expired  on  the  15th  of  October  fol- 
lowing, at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Wright 
the  engraver.  On  the  27th  of  October  he  was  buried  by 
the  side  of  Fuseli  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's ;  his  funeral 
was  attended  by  the  President  and  other  members  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  and  by  the  Eussian  Embassy  in  London. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Arts  at 
St.  Petersburg,  and  of  the  Academies  of  Stockholm  and 
Florence. 

From  his  constant  employment,  his  abstemious  habits, 
and  by  a  selfishness  and  want  of  generosity  by  which  he 
was  unhappily  distinguished,  he  amassed  a  considerable 
fortune.  But  for  some  unprofessional  speculations  in 
which  he  was  engaged,  his  property  (which  was  sworn  at 
Doctors'  Commons  under  £25,000)  would  have  been  much 
greater.  He  was  singularly  favoured  in  being  able  not 
only  to  hand  down  the  memorials  of  his  skih1  in  connexion 
with  the  important  events  of  his  time,  but  also  in  being 
permitted  to  establish  the  fame  of  English  art  over  the 
whole  of  the  north  of  Europe.  But  for  this,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  his  productions  in  themselves  would  have 
raised  him  to  a  very  high  position  as  a  portrait  painter, 
for  although  he  produced  good  likenesses  as  to  the  features, 
his  portraits  are  not  expressive  of  the  character  of  his 
sitters.  But  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  if  he  had 
followed  the  branch  of  the  art  to  which  he  devoted  his 
talent  early  in  life,  he  would  have  ranked  among  the  best 
historical  painters  of  his  time. 

WILLIAM  EADMORE  BIGG,  E.A.,  was  born  in  January, 
1755,  and  was  admitted  as  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  1778  :  he  became  an  Associate  in  1787,  and  a  Eoyal 
Academician  in  1814.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Sir 
J.  Eeynolds,  and  through  a  long  life  the  amenity  of  his 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX. 

manners  endeared  him  to  a  numerous  acquaintance.  The 
subjects  of  his  pencil  were  mostly  of  a  domestic  nature, 
appealing  strongly  to  the  sympathies.  In  all  of  them, 
benevolence,  or  the  tender  feelings  either  of  parental  affec- 
tion or  rustic  society,  were  forcibly  portrayed.  His  '  Ship- 
wrecked Sailor-boy,' '  Boys  relieving  a  Blind  Man,' '  Black 
Monday,'  and  other  similar  subjects,  have  been  engraved, 
and  were  very  popular  both  in  this  country  and  on  the 
Continent.  He  died  in  Great  Eussell  Street,  Bloomsbury, 
on  the  6th  of  February,  1828. 

Sir  HENEY  EAEBUEN,  E.A.,  the  son  of  a  manufacturer, 
was  born  at  Stockbridge,  Edinburgh  on  March  4th,  1756. 
Having  lost  his  parents  when  only  six  years  old,  he  was 
placed  in  "  Heriot's  wark,"  the  Christ's  Hospital  School 
of  Scotland.  At  fifteen  he  was  apprenticed  by  an  elder 
brother  to  a  goldsmith.  During  the  time  of  his  articles,  he 
painted  miniatures,  which  were  executed  in  such  a  tasteful 
manner  as  to  excite  attention,  and  soon  became  in  general 
demand.  His  master,  although  finding  his  talent  for 
art  destructive  of  his  services  as  an  apprentice,  kindly 
encouraged  his  tastes,  and  introduced  him  to  a  portrait 
painter  of  repute  in  Edinburgh,  named  David  Martin. 
By  the  aid  of  this  artist,  he  made  rapid  progress,  pur- 
chased the  remainder  of  his  apprenticeship,  and  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  miniature  painting.  He  had  re- 
ceived no  preliminary  instruction,  however,  and  had  many 
difficulties  to  contend  with  ;  but  as  his  knowledge  of  art 
increased,  he  overcame  by  perseverance  all  obstacles, 
having  now  the  advantage  of  studying  the  works  of  a 
professed  painter.  Subsequently,  when  studying  oil- 
painting,  he  obtained  access  to  collections  of  pictures, 
which  opened  to  his  mind  many  beauties  in  art  beyond 
those  he  had  hitherto  known.  In  1779  he  made  an 
advantageous  marriage,  and  soon  afterwards  came  to 
London,  where  he  was  much  noticed  by  Eeynolds,  who 
advised  him  to  visit  Italy,  and  offered  him  pecuniary 


Cn.IX.]  SIR  H.   RAEBURN  351 

assistance  and  letters  of  introduction  to  persons  there. 
He  acted  upon  this  advice,  and  remained  in  Eome  and 
other  parts  of  Italy  about  three  years.  At  Eome  he 
seems  to  have  profited  more  by  the  advice  of  Byers, 
a  dealer  in  pictures  and  antiquities,  than  by  any  artists 
whose  acquaintance  he  made  there.  In  1787  he  re- 
turned, and  established  himself  in  Edinburgh,  where  in  a 
short  time  he  became  the  chief  portrait  painter,  and 
justified  the  envious  fears  of  Martin,  who  had  dreaded  his 
rivalry  and  abruptly  terminated  his  acquaintance  with 
him  some  years  before.  He  was  elected  President  of  the 
Eoyal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Florence,  and  of  the  South 
Carolina  and  New  York  Academies. 

In  1812  he  became  an  Associate,  and  in  1815  a  Eoyal 
Academician.  He  now  again  proposed  to  remove  to 
London,  but  was  dissuaded  from  doing  so  by  Lawrence, 
who  advised  him  to  content  himself  with  his  supremacy 
in  Scotland,  where  he  could  reckon  the  greater  number 
of  the  distinguished  men  of  his  country  either  among  his 
friends  or  sitters.  His  portraits  of  the  mountain  chiefs 
—  the  Macdonald,  Mackenzie,  Campbell,  Bruce,  Hay, 
Scott,  Duff,  Gordon,  Douglas,  Hamilton,  and  others  — 
attest  the  fulness  of  his  practice.  In  1821  he  presented 
a  picture  of  '  A  Boy  and  Eabbit '  to  the  Academy  as  his 
diploma  work.  On  the  visit  of  George  IV.  to  Scotland, 
in  1822,  Eaeburn  was  knighted  at  Hopetoun  House, 
and  shortly  afterwards  received  the  appointment  of  por- 
trait painter  to  the  King  for  Scotland,  an  honour  he  did 
not  long  enjoy,  as  he  died  at  his  house  near  Edinburgh, 
on  the  8th  of  July,  1823,  aged  67. 

Eaeburn's  style  was  free  and  bold,  his  drawing  ex- 
tremely correct,  his  colouring  rich,  deep,  and  harmonious. 
The  heads  of  his  figures  are  always  kept  prominent  and 
distinct,  and  the  accessories,  whether  drapery,  furniture,  or 
landscape,  always  appropriate,  and  though  carefully  exe- 
cuted, never  made  too  conspicuous,  or  allowed  to  obtrude 


352  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX. 

upon  the  eye.  The  fidelity  of  his  portraits  may  be  attri- 
buted, in  part,  to  his  habit  of  never  giving  a  painting  a 
single  touch  from  memory  or  conjecture,  but  always  with 
his  sitter  before  him.  But  while  he  could  represent  with 
great  force  and  truth  men  of  intellect  and  genius,  he 
could  not  realise  those  delicate  conceptions  of  women  of 
fashion  which  Lawrence  acquired.  Among  his  chief 
portraits  may  be  mentioned  those  of  Sir  W.  Scott,  Lord 
Eldon,  James  Watt,  Henry  Mackenzie,  John  Kennie,  and 
Sir  F.  Chantrey.  His  full-length  pictures  of  the  Earl  of 
Hopetoun,  Sir  D.  Baird,  Lord  F.  Campbell,  and  other 
Scottish  celebrities,  are  admirable  specimens  of  portrait 
painting.  He  was  also  a  patron  of  the  arts ;  and  his 
gallery  and  study  were  alike  open  to  assist  his  younger 
brethren  who  sought  his  advice. 

EDWARD  BIRD,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Wolverhampton,  on 
the  12th  of  April,  1772.  His  father  was  a  clothier,  and 
gave  his  son  a  fair  education.  From  very  early  childhood 
young  Bird  displayed  a  strong  desire  to  sketch  figures 
upon  the  walls  and  furniture.  When  still  a  boy  his  eldest 
sister  bought  him  a  box  of  colours  ;  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  painted  from  Miss  Lee's  "  Eecess  "  the  imaginary 
interview  between  the  Earl  of  Leicester  and  the  daughter 
of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  As  his  love  of  painting  was 
not  to  be  repressed,  his  father  apprenticed  him  to  Messrs. 
Jones  and  Taylor,  tin  and  japan  ware  manufacturers,  at  a 
place  called  "  The  Hall,"  at  Wolverhampton,  that  he  might 
ornament  and  embellish  tea-trays,  &c. ;  and  he  soon  ex- 
celled all  the  workmen  there  in  that  art.  But  it  was 
monotonous  and  mechanical  work ;  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  his  indentures,  Bird  set  up  as  a  drawing-master  at 
Bristol,  and  resolved  to  take  a  higher  position  as  an  artist. 
He  had  meanwhile  improved  his  knowledge  of  the  nature 
and  use  of  colours,  had  studied  the  human  form,  and  made 
many  sketches  of  natural  and  domestic  scenes ;  and  now  he 
improved  himself  in  the  knowledge  of  art  by  teaching  others. 


CH.  IX.]  EDWARD  BIRD  _  353 

In  1807,  when  lie  had  by  patient  self-discipline  become 
more  able  to  draw  to  his  own  satisfaction,  he  showed 
some  of  his  works  to  an  artist  of  taste,  who  advised  him 
to  exhibit  them  at  Bath.  They  were  much  admired,  and 
sold  for  thirty  guineas  each,  whereas  Bird  had  originally 
marked  them  at  ten  guineas.  Some  very  popular  works 
succeeded  these — '  Good  News,'  '  Choristers  Rehearsing  ' 
(bought  by  William  IV.),  and  '  The  Will,'  purchased  by 
the  Marquis  of  Hastings.  The  self-taught  artist  thus 
gained  rapid  distinction ;  his  pictures  were  sought  for, 
and  purchased  by  eminent  collectors ;  and  in  1812  he 
was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1815  a  Eoyal  Acade- 
mician. 

Still  greater  efforts  were  soon  to  be  attended  by 
further  success.  His  next  work  was  a  historical  compo- 
sition representing  the  results  of  the  Battle  of  Chevy 
Chase,  which  he  treated  in  the  spirit  of  the  fine  old 
ballad,  and  the  original  sketch  of  which  he  presented  to 
Sir  Walter  Scott.  The  finished  picture  was  bought  for  300 
guineas  by  the  Marquis  of  Stafford.  The  same  nobleman 
purchased  his  next  picture,  '  The  Death  of  Eli,'  for  500 
guineas,  to  which  the  British  Institution  added  their  pre- 
mium of  200  guineas,  as  a  testimony  of  their  admiration 
of  its  excellence.  But  it  had  unfortunately  been  com- 
missioned as  a  speculation  by  three  merchants  of  Bristol, 
who  paid  Bird  £100  each  for  it — so  that  all  this  added 
wealth  became  theirs,  and  not  his.  So  pleased  were 
they  with  their  profits,  that  they  offered  him  another 
commission,  but  he  very  wisely  declined  it.  The  citizens 
of  Bristol,  however,  were  always  proud  of  one  who  had 
begun  his  career  as  an  artist  among  them.  He  went  to 
his  native  town  in  1811,  and  returned  to  London  the 
next  year,  occupying  his  pencil  with  subjects  more  within 
his  reach  than  history — those  natural  and  touching  re- 
presentations of  home  and  social  life  in  which  he  so 
much  excelled — such  as  '  The  Blacksmith's  Shop,'  '  The 
Country  Auction,'  'The  Gipsy  Boy,'  'The  Young  Ke- 

VOL.  i.  A  A 


354  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

emit,'  '  The  Baffle  for  the  Watch '  (in  the  Vernon  Gallery), 
4  The  Game  at  Put,'  '  Meg  Merrilies,'  &c.  In  1813,  he  was 
introduced  to  the  Princess  Charlotte,  who  appointed  him  her 
painter,  on  which  occasion  he  presented  her  Boyal  High- 
ness with  '  The  Surrender  of  Calais,'  one  of  his  favourite 
pictures.  After  her  untimely  end,  and  the  artist's  de- 
cease, his  widow  applied  to  Prince  Leopold,  to  lend  this 
work  for  exhibition  with  others  by  him,  which  he  readily 
consented  to  do,  and  gave  a  donation  of  £100  towards 
the  expenses. 

Bird's  later  works  were  in  the  lofty  style  which  he  was 
so  ambitious  to  attain,  but  for  which  he  had  not  sufficient 
imagination  or  elevated  conception.  In  this  style  he  pro- 
duced c  The  Fortitude  of  Job,'  '  The  Death  of  Sapphira,' 
'  The  Crucifixion,'  '  The  Burning  of  Eidley  and  Latimer,' 
and  'The  Embarkation  of  Louis  XVIII.  for  France.' 
The  last  was  a  mere  pageant,  but  required  him  to  obtain 
portraits  of  many  persons  of  rank,  which  involved  greater 
trouble  and  difficulty  than  he  was  able  to  bear,  and  he 
sunk  in  making  the  attempt.  The  picture  was  never 
finished;  for  he  died  on  2nd  November,  1819,  suffering 
greatly  from  disappointment  in  respect  to  this  work,  and 
from  domestic  affliction,  in  the  recent  loss  of  two  of  his 
children.  He  was  buried  in  the  cloisters  of  Bristol 
Cathedral,  three  hundred  citizens  of  Bristol  following  him 
to  the  grave.  A  simple  tablet  to  his  memory  was  after- 
wards placed  in  the  Cathedral  by  his  daughter. 

He  was  a  kind-hearted,  generous  man,  loving  truth 
and  regularity  in  his  home,  and  animated  and  cheerful 
in  company,  until  just  before  he  died,  when  he  became 
dejected  from  vexation  and  disappointment.  As  a  painter 
he  was  peculiarly  happy  in  the  treatment  of  his  subjects. 
He  had  great  power  in  seizing  character  (which  he  studied 
from  the  life,  whenever  he  met  with  it,  often  sketching  a 
passer-by  in  the  crowded  streets),  in  furnishing  illustrative 
incidents,  and  in  the  employment  of  episodes  suitable  to 
his  subjects  —  although  there  is,  perhaps,  little  depth  of 


CH.  IX.]  WILLIAM  MULREADY  355 

thought  in  anything  he  produced.  To  the  last  he  ne- 
glected to  acquire  a  perfect  knowledge  of  perspective,  and 
was  deficient  in  colour ;  but  his  genre  paintings  will 
always  be  admired,  when  his  historical  compositions  are 
no  longer  remembered. 

WILLIAM  MULREADY,  E.A.,  now  a  venerable  member  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  was  born  at  Ennis,  in  Ireland,  4»- 
1786.  He  came  to  England  with  his  parents  at  a  very 
early  age ;  and  some  of  his  boyish  sketches  shown  to 
Banks,  the  sculptor,  elicited  his  high  praise  and  encourage- 
ment. In  his  fifteenth  year  he  became  a  student  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  and  made  very  satisfactory  progress; 
he  at  first  essayed  to  follow  the  classic  and  high  historic 
style,  choosing  such  subjects  as  'Polyphemus  and  Ulysses,' 
'  Caliban  and  Trinculo,'  '  The  disobedient  Prophet,'  &c., 
until  he  found  his  deficiency  in  technical  skill  and  know- 
ledge for  such  attempts,  and  resolutely  applied  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  best  Dutch  painters,  and  made  sketches 
in  Kensington  gravel-pits,  and  from  other  common  every- 
day sources.  These  labours  produced  their  fruits  even  in 
his  early  pictures,  which  with  all  their  immaturity  of 
thought,  uncertainty  of  touch,  and  general  incomplete- 
ness, showed  a  true  feeling  for  the  simplicity  of  nature, 
for  truth  of  colour,  and  breadth  of  effect, — qualities  dis- 
played in  all  their  force  and  vigour  in  his  later  works. 
Indeed,  in  his  earliest  productions  there  is  a  depth  and 
power  which  is  only  found  in  the  works  of  others  after  a 
lifetime  of  severe  study.  In  1806  he  exhibited  'A 
Cottage '  and  « St.  Peter's  Well  in  the  Vestry  of  York 
Minster;'  and  in  the  next  year  'A  View  in  St.  Alban's.' 
In  1808  '  Old  Houses  in  Lambeth,'  and  *  A  Carpenter's 
Shop  and  Kitchen,'  in  the  same  style,  and  '  The  Battle,' 
his  first  figure  picture.  The  next  few  years  snowed 
marked  progress  in  the  same  effective  style.  'A  Eoad- 
side  Inn,'  '  Horses  Baiting,'  '  The  Barber's  Shop,'  and 
'Punch  '  (painted  in  1812),  were  produced  in  succession. 

A    A    2 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

'  Boys  Fishing  '  (1813),  and  '  Idle  Boys'  (1815),  secured 
his  election  as  an  Associate  in  November  1815.  'The 
Fight  Interrupted '  was  his  next  work ;  and  in  February 
1816,  he  became  a  Koyal  Academician — a  rare  instance 
of  an  artist  attaining  both  honours  in  the  Academy  within 
a  few  months. 

Thus  elevated  to  a  high  position  in  his  profession,  he 
still  pursued  with  equal  painstaking  the  course  of  careful 
study  by  which  he  had  attained  to  fame.  His  love  of 
colour  was  early  shown,  and  the  same  style  pervades  all 
his  works — the  only  difference  between  the  earliest  and  the 
latest  being  that  of  progress.  No  laxity  or  feebleness  of 
manner  characterises  any  of  his  later  productions,  in 
which  he  sometimes  follows  the  pathetic  and  sentimental, 
but  more  frequently  the  humorous  and  grotesque.  His 
works,  since  he  obtained  the  rank  of  Koyal  Academi- 
cian, are  well  known  by  engravings,  and  many  of  them 
are  public  property,  by  the  gifts  of  Mr.  Vernon  and  Mr. 
Sheepshanks.  'Lending  a  Bite,'  painted  in  1819,  was 
bought  by  Earl  Grey;  'The  Wolf  and  the  Lamb,'  ex- 
hibited in  1820,  became  the  property  of  George  IV. 
'  The  Careless  Messenger'  was  exhibited  in  1821 ;  '  The 
Convalescent'  (one  of  his  first  efforts  in  a  more  poetic 
style),  in  1822  ;  '  The  Widow,'  in  1824  ;  '  The  Origin  of 
a  Painter,'  in  1826  ;  'The  Cannon,'  in  1827,  bought  by 
Sir  Eobert  Peel ;  and  '  The  Interior  of  an  English  Cot- 
tage,' in  1828,  purchased  by  George  IV.  These  were 
followed  successively  by  many  admirable  works,  among 
which  were  '  Giving  a  Bite,'  '  The  Pinch  of  the  Ear,' 
'  Open  your  Eyes  and  shut  your  Mouth,'  '  The  Seven 
Ages,'  '  The  Sonnet,'  '  First  Love,'  '  The  Artist's  Study,' 
'  Train  up  a  Child  in  the  Way  he  should  go,'  &c.,  many 
of  which  are  now  at  South  Kensington.  In  1840  Mul- 
ready  designed  twenty  illustrations  for  a  new  edition  of 
Goldsmith's  "Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  published  by  Van 
Voorst.  These  were  so  exquisitely  beautiful  that  he  was 
beset  with  commissions  to  paint  them  as  pictures.  Ac- 


CH.  IX.]  WILLIAM  MULREADY  357 

cordingly,  in  1843,  he  painted  'The  Whistonian  Contro- 
versy  '  for  Mr.  Baring ;  and  '  Burchell  and  Sophia,'  and  '^fa 
'  Choosing    the  Wedding-Gown '   for   Mr.  Sheepshanks.  /<*,  A 
Happily  the  nation  possesses  some  of  his  best  works — 
'  The  Last  in,'  '  Fair-Time,'  '  Crossing  the  Ford,'  the  gift 
of  Mr.  Vernon,  and  several  admirable  pictures  and  draw- 
ings  presented  by  Mr.  Sheepshanks. 

In  1848  the  Society  of  Arts  commenced  a  series  of 
exhibitions  of  "  the  pictures  of  some  one  living  artist,  his 
studies  and  sketches,  and  engravings  from  his  works ; " 
and  those  of  Mulready  were  chosen  for  the  first  display.  A 
hundred  of  his  paintings,  and  one  hundred  and  eight 
sketches,  with  many  of  those  inimitable  studies  from  the 
life,  in  black  and  red  chalk,  finished  with  all  the  nicety  of 
engraving,  by  which  in  early  life  he  laboured  to  acquire 
the  perfection  of  correctness  in  drawing — were  thus 
gathered  together,  and  proved  a  great  triumph,  as  display- 
ing Mulready's  mastery  over  his  art.  Few  could  have  borne 
such  an  ordeal  as  that  of  ranging  together  before  the  public 
eye  the  work  of  forty-three  years  ;  but  in  his  case  it  showed 
how  patient  labour  and  study  had  led  him  on  to  growing 
refinement  in  taste,  delicacy,  and  grace  in  expression,  and 
increasing  humour,  mingled  with  a  pathetic  tenderness, 
which  only  the  poetical  conception  of  a  mind  full  of  pure 
and  lofty  susceptibilities  could  conceive,  and  the  power  of 
a  master  hand  in  art  could  depict. 

Since  this  gathering  together  of  his  previous  labours, 
Mulready  has  exhibited  few  pictures,  the  last  being 
'  Blackheath  Park,'  in  1852.  He  never  sought  to  pro- 
duce quantity,  but  to  attain  to  excellence,  although  a 
large  number  of  works  have  proceeded  from  his  delicate 
and  truthful  pencil,  all  rare  in  originality  of  subject  and 
treatment,  and  in  careful  execution.  He  is  still  full  of 
energy  and  strength,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the 
Schools  and  the  affairs  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  in  the 
profession  of  which  he  is  so  distinguished  an  ornament. 
It  was  on  his  proposition  that  the  privilege  of  '*  varnish- 


358  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Co.  IX. 

ing  days "  was  discontinued,  in  order  that  all  pictures 
exhibited  at  the  Academy  might  be  put  on  an  equality, 
whether  the  works  of  its  members  or  of  others. 

ALFRED  EDWARD  CHALON,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Geneva 
in  1780,  and  was  descended  from  a  French  Protestant 
family  who  had  settled  there  after  the  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes.  In  his  early  youth  the  family  removed 
to  London,  and  his  father  obtained  an  appointment  as 
Professor  of  French  at  the  Eoyal  Military  College  at 
Sandhurst.  His  sons,  Alfred  and  John,  were  first  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits ;  but  having  a  great  taste  for  art, 
they  succeeded  in  founding  "  The  Sketching  Club,"  which 
at  first  consisted  of  artists  and  amateurs,  and  which, 
during  the  forty  years  of  its  existence,  numbered  Leslie, 
Stanlield,  Uwins,  Cristall,  and  others  among  its  members. 
Alfred  Chalon's  reputation  rests  entirely  upon  the  por- 
traits, chiefly  in  water-colours,  which  during  many  years 
hung  on  the  walls  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  They  were 
chiefly  of  aristocratic  ladies,  slight  and  sketchy,  brightly 
coloured,  and  somewhat  mannered  in  their  execution,  but 
sufficiently  graceful,  effective,  and  pleasing  to  render  the 
artist  popular,  especially  as  a  painter  of  portraits  of  ladies 
of  fashion.  But,  although  this  was  the  style  of  the 
larger  number  of  the  works  which  he  exhibited  during 
many  successive  years  at  the  Academy,  he  also  painted 
occasionally  in  oils,  and  chose  subjects  of  a  more  ambi- 
tious nature.  Among  these  were  '  Hunt  the  Slipper ' 
(1831),  '  Samson  and  Delilah'  (1837),  '  Scene  from  "  Le 
Diable  Boiteux  " '  (1840),  'The  Farewell'  (1841),  'John 
Knox  reproving  the  Ladies  of  Queen  Mary's  Court,'  and 
4  Christ  mocked  by  Herod '  (1844),  '  A  Madonna  '  (1845), 
'Serena'  (1847),  'The  Seasons'  (1851),  and  'Sophia 
Western'  (1857).  In  all  of  these  his  colouring  and 
grouping  was  effective ;  but  while  forming  attractive 
pictures  by  their  character  and  brilliancy,  they  scarcely 
pretended  to  attain  the  ideal  of  historical  compositions. 


CH.  IX.]  A.  E.   CHALON  359 

He  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1797, 
was  elected  an  Associate  in  1812,  and  a  Eoyal  Academi- 
cian in  1816,  when  the  fame  of  his  free  and  sparkling 
pencil  was  at  its  height.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Arts  of  Geneva,  and  was  latterly  appointed  to  the 
office  of  Portrait  Painter  in  Water-Colours  to  her 
Majesty.  He  made  a  very  admirable  portrait  of  the 
Queen,  in  water-colours,  soon  after  her  accession,  which 
has  been  engraved  on  a  large  scale,  and  was  exhibited  at 
the  Paris  Exhibition,  in  1855.  He  continued  to  draw 
and  to  exhibit  to  the  end  of  his  long  life,  nor  was  there 
much  apparent  decline  in  his  powers.  In  1855,  shortly 
after  the  death  of  John  Chalon,  a  collection  of  the  works 
of  the  two  brothers  was  made  at  the  Society  of  Arts,  but 
scarcely  attracted  the  public  attention  it  deserved.  Alfred 
Chalon  died  in  his  80th  year,  at  his  residence.^Campden 
Hill,  Kensington,  on  the  3rd  of  October,  1860,  and  was 
buried  in  Highgate  Cemetery.  He  left  behind  him  a 
large  collection  of  sketches  and  drawings,  which  he  offered 
to  present  to  the  parish  of  Hampstead,  on  the  condition 
of  a  suitable  building  and  a  curator  being  found  for  the 
reception  and  care  of  them.  The  offer  was  not  accepted, 
however,  and  they  were  subsequently  dispersed  by  auction. 
Both  he  and  his  brother  John  were  intimate  friends  of 
C.  E.  Leslie,  who  spoke  highly  of  their  kindly  qualities 
as  private  companions,  and  said  that  the  affection  of  the 
two  brothers  was  the  strongest  he  ever  witnessed  between 
relations.  He  formed  a  high  opinion  of  their  powers  as 
artists,  stating  that  he  always  felt  himself  in  a  school  of 
art  when  in  their  house,  and  that  he  considered  Alfred 
Chalon  as  long  holding  the  first  place  among  the  painters 
of  water-colours  in  his  day. 

JOHN  JACKSOX,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Lastingham,  in  York- 
shire, on  the  31st  of  May,  1778.  His  father  was  a  tailor 
in  the  village,  and  brought  up  his  son  to  the  same  trade. 
He  had  seen  the  pictures  at  Castle  Howard,  which 


360  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

awakened  a  love  of  painting  in  his  heart,  and  a  dislike  to 
the  business  in  which  he  was  engaged ;  and  by  the  kind- 
ness of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  he  was  permitted  to  study 
the  works  of  the  great  masters  in  his  lordship's  possession. 
He  had  previously  received  some  instruction  in  drawing 
from  the  schoolmaster  of  his  native  village,  to  whom  he 
had  shown  some  of  the  heads  he  had  sketched  when  a 
mere  boy.  This  worthy  man  showed  a  copy  he  made  of 
one  of  Reynolds's  pictures  (the  portrait  of  the  father  of 
George  Colman),  crude  as  it  was,  and  painted  with  colours 
obtained  from  the  store  of  a  house-painter,  to  Lord 
Mulgrave,  who  gave  the  young  aspirant  proper  materials, 
and  encouraged  him  to  improve  by  renewed  efforts.  He 
now  read  books  on  painting,  compared  nature  with  the  re- 
presentations of  it  in  the  works  of  the  painters  he  had  seen, 
and  studied  diligently  the  method  by  which  they  depicted 
what  they  saw.  He  copied  Carracci's  picture  of  the  '  Three 
Marys,'  at  Castle  Howard,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  with 
such  ability  that  the  unexpired  portion  of  his  apprentice- 
ship to  his  father  was  purchased  by  Lord  Mulgrave  and 
Sir  George  Beaumont,  that  he  might  follow  art  as  a  pro- 
fession. The  latter  behaved  with  the  greatest  kindness 
and  liberality  to  him ;  he  gave  him  an  allowance  of 
£50  a  year,  and  an  apartment  in  his  town  house,  that 
he  might  be  able  to  study  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  where 
he  became,  in  1805,  a  diligent  student.  This  was  a  noble 
and  generous  act,  and  one  by  which  Jackson  profited 
greatly ;  for  he  met  at  his  patron's  house  almost  all  the 
men  of  taste  and  genius  of  the  time,  and  thus  made  up 
for  all  that  was  defective  in  his  early  education  and 
training. 

Soon  after  he  took  up  his  abode  in  London,  he  was 
employed  in  copying  portraits  to  be  engraved  in  CadelTs 
series  of  portraits  of  illustrious  personages,  which  he 
executed  with  great  truthfulness.  He  first  obtained  a 
name  by  his  blacklead  pencil  and  water-colour  portraits, 
but  it  was  some  years  before  he  took  his  place  among  the 


CH.  IX.  J  JOHN  JACKSON  861 

principal  portrait-painters  in  oils.  His  first  exhibited 
picture  was  a  portrait  of  Master  H.  Eobinson,  in  1804 ; 
in  1806  he  exhibited  portraits  of  Lady  Mulgrave  and  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Phipps  ;  the  next  year  he  painted  the  Marquis 
of  Huntly,  Lady  Mary  Fitzgerald,  and  others.  In  1809 
he  removed  from  the  Haymarket  to  54  Great  Marlborough 
Street,  and  from  that  time  till  1815,  when  he  became  an 
Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  his  reputation  steadily 
increased.  In  this  period  he  exhibited  more  than  thirty 
portraits,  and  among  them  several  of  members  of  the 
Academy.  He  was  created  an  E.A.  in  1817,  and  was 
also  elected  a  Member  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke,  at 
Eome.  A  portrait  of  Canova,  painted  at  Eome,  while  on 
a  visit  to  Italy,  in  company  with,  and  for  Sir  F.  Chantrey, 
in  1819,  excited  great  attention ;  but  his  best  work,  a 
masterpiece  of  art,  is  his  portrait  of  John  Flaxman,  one 
of  the  thirteen  portraits  of  Academicians  above  referred 
to.  Lord  Dover  gave  Jackson  the  commission  for  this 
picture,  and  was  a  constant  friend  and  patron  of  the 
artist.  Lawrence  greatly  admired  this  portrait,  saying 
that  it  was  "  a  great  achievement  of  the  English  School, 
and  a  picture  of  which  Vandyke  might  have  felt  proud  to 
own  himself  the  author." 

Jackson  worked  with  great  rapidity,  and  many  illustra- 
tions of  it  are  on  record.  Passavant  says  he  copied, 
while  at  Eome,  Titian's  picture  of  '  Divine  Love '  in  three 
days,  which  would  have  occupied  most  artists  a  month ; 
and  that  for  a  wager  he  once  finished  five  gentlemen's 
portraits  in  a  single  summer's  day,  and  received  twenty-five 
guineas  for  each  of  them.  Between  1804  and  1830  he 
exhibited  nearly  150  pictures  at  the  Academy,  and  painted 
many  more,  and  this  during  the  period  when  Lawrence, 
Beechey,  Owen,  Phillips,  and  other  illustrious  contem- 
poraries were  in  the  height  of  their  popularity.  His  style 
was  masculine,  characteristic,  and  true,  without  flattery. 
His  colouring  was  clear  and  rich,  and  he  sometimes 
attained  that  low-toned  brightness  so  much  admired  in 


362  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX. 

Sir  J.  Eeynolds's  works ;  but  his  pictures  wanted  the 
delicacy  and  grace  of  those  of  Lawrence.  His  portrait 
of  Lady  Dover,  however,  is  a  lovely  work,  both  for  its 
beauty  in  drawing  and  splendid  colouring,  and  for  the 
singular  grace  of  manner  and  delicacy  of  touch  which 
pervade  the  whole.  A  copy  he  made  of  the  Correggio 
at  Apsley  House,  '  Christ  in  the  Garden,'  he  presented  to 
the  church  of  his  native  place,  Lastingham,  with  £50,  to 
improve  the  situation  in  which  it  was  to  be  placed.  He 
paid  an  annual  visit  to  this  village  for  many  years  after 
he  came  to  London.  He  was  twice  married  ;  by  his  first 
wife  he  had  a  daughter,  and  by  his  second  (the  daughter 
of  James  Ward,  E.A.)  he  had  three  children. 

Although  he  had  a  large  income  from  his  profession,  he 
seems  to  have  spent  it  in  his  lifetime,  for  he,  unfortunately, 
left  no  provision  for  his  family.  Lord  Dover,  who  knew 
him  intimately,  said  — "  In  private  he  could  not  but  be 
beloved  for  his  singleness  of  heart,  and  his  simplicity  and 
truth  of  mind ;  in  all  the  relations,  too,  of  domestic  life, 
he  was  exemplary,  which  is  not  surprising  when  we  reflect 
that  his  actions  were  regulated  by  a  fervent  sense  of 
religion."  Thus  he  lived,  esteemed  by  his  numerous 
friends,  and  beloved  by  his  family,  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  at  his  house  at  St.  John's  Wood,  on  the  1st  of 
June,  1831, — caused  by  having  taken  cold  when  attending 
the  funeral  of  Lord  Mulgrave.  He  was  buried  at  St. 
John's  Wood  Chapel.  His  portraits  of  himself,  the  late 
Earl  Grey,  Sir  John  Soane,  Eev.  W.  H.  Carr,  and  of  Miss 
Stephens  (afterwards  Countess  of  Essex),  are  in  the 
National  Collections. 

WILLIAM  HILTON,  E.A.,  was  born  at  Lincoln,  on  the 
3rd  of  June,  1786.  He  received  lessons  from  his  father, 
who  was  a  portrait  painter,  and  became,  in  1800,  a  pupil 
of  John  Eaphael  Smith,  the  crayon  painter  and  mezzotinto- 
engraver.  He  entered  the  schools  of  the  Eoyal  Academy 
in  1806,  and  studied  anatomy,  that  he  might  become  a 


CH.  IX.]  WILLIAM  HILTON  363 

more  complete  master  of  the  form  of  the  human  figure. 
In  1803,  while  still  very  young,  he  sent  a  clever  picture 
to  the  exhibition,  entitled  'Banditti;'  in  1804,  '  Hector 
re-inspired  by  Apollo;'  and  in  1806,  and  the  next  few 
years,  '  Cephalus  and  Procris,'  '  Venus  carrying  the 
wounded  ^Eneas,'  '  Ulysses  and  Calypso,'  the  '  Good 
Samaritan,'  'John  of  Gaunt  reproving  Eichard  II.,'  'Christ 
restoring  Sight  to  the  Blind,'  'Mary  anointing  the  Feet 
of  Jesus,'  and  the  '  Eaising  of  Lazarus.'  These  works 
showed,  not  only  his  desire  to  restore  the  high  historic 
style  of  painting,  but  that  he  possessed  a  truly  poetic 
feeling ;  and  that  in  the  treatment  of  the  subjects  he  chose, 
he  selected  those  only  in  which  he  could  realise  his  own 
high  and  noble  conceptions,  and  introduce  the  most 
beautiful  human  forms. 

Unhappily,  neither  his  style  nor  the  subjects  of  his 
pictures  were  popular,  and  very  many  of  the  works  he 
painted  during  his  lifetime  remained  in  his  possession  till 
his  death.  Among  these  were  the  '  Angel  releasing  St. 
Peter  from  Prison '  and  '  Sir  Calepine  rescuing  Serena,' 
both  exhibited  in  1831.  The  latter  was  purchased  from 
his  executors  by  an  association  of  gentlemen,  chiefly 
artists,  for  500  guineas,  and  presented  to  the  National 
Collection,  where  are  also  to  be  seen  three  other  capital 
works, — '  Edith  and  the  Monks  searching  for  the  Body  of 
Harold,'  '  Cupid  disarmed,'  and  '  Eebecca  with  Abraham's 
Servant  at  the  Well,' — the  gift  of  Mr.  Vernon.  Other 
pictures  left  on  his  hands  were  'Comus,'  'Amphitrite,'  the 
'  Murder  of  the  Innocents,' —  the  last  exhibited  by  him 
(in  1838), —  and  'Eizpah  watching  the  dead  Bodies  of 
Saul's  Sons,'  which  was  left  unfinished  at  his  death. 

He  became  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1813, 
the  year  in  which  he  painted  '  Miranda  and  Ferdinand 
bearing  a  Log.'  In  1818  he  returned  to  England  from 
Home  (which  he  had  visited  in  company  with  T.  Phillips, 
E.A.),  and  exhibited  '  The  Eape  of  Europa,'  an  admirable 
work.  In  the  next  year  he  became  a  Eoyal  Academician, 


364  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

and  presented  as  his  diploma  work  '  The  Eape  of  Ganny- 
mede,'  exhibited  in  that  year.  Among  his  works  of  this 
period  were  '  Venus  surprising  Diana,'  '  Comus  with  the 
Lady  in  the  enchanted  Chair,'  '  Love  taught  by  the 
Graces,'  and  '  Christ  crowned  with  Thorns,'  —  the  last- 
named  was  bought  by  the  British  Institution  in  1825. 
On  the  death  of  Fuseli  in  1827,  he  succeeded  him  as 
Keeper  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  in  which  position  his 
singularly  mild  and  amiable  manner  won  the  regard  of 
the  young  students,  who  marked  their  high  sense  of  his 
services  by  presenting  him  with  a  valuable  piece  of 
plate.  Notwithstanding  his  great  abilities,  he  would 
scarcely  have  escaped  suffering  from  poverty  but  for  the 
assistance  the  emoluments  of  this  appointment  afforded 
him.  When  he  fell  into  ill-health,  towards  the  close  of 
the  year  1836,  the  Eoyal  Academy  offered  to  grant  him 
leave  of  absence  from  his  duties,  and  £50  to  enable  him 
to  obtain  rest  and  change  of  air,  but  he  declined  both. 

As  a  historical  painter,  he  excelled  both  in  design  and 
colouring ;  his  pictures  abound  with  beautiful  forms  and 
graceful  action.  His  taste  in  composition  was  refined,  his 
colouring  harmonious  and  rich  ;  his  drawing  was  accurate, 
and  his  effects  of  light  and  shade  true  and  effective  :  but 
his  works  were  of  too  high  a  character  to  become  gene- 
rally popular,  and  the  encouragement  afforded  him  by  a 
few  judicious  collectors,  was  far  from  adequate  to  his  need 
or  his  merits.  One  of  his  most  poetical  conceptions  was 
'  Nature  blowing  Bubbles  for  her  Children  '  (1821),  pur- 
chased by  the  late  Sir  J.  Swinburne.  Several  of  his 
sacred  subjects  form  altar-pieces  of  churches,  one  — '  The 
raising  of  Lazarus' --he  presented  to  the  church  of 
Newark,  of  which  town  his  father  was  a  native,  as  a  mark 
of  respect  to  his  memory.  His  fancy  subjects  are  gene- 
rally from  classic  story,  or  from  Milton  and  Spenser,  his 
favourite  authors.  His  mythological  pictures  are  always 
intelligible  and  easy  to  be  understood,  and  the  fascinating 
style  in  which  he  rendered  them,  as  in  those  of  '  Cupid 


CH.  IX.]  HILTON  —  COLLINS  366 

Armed '  and  '  Disarmed,'  make  them  the  most  pleasing  of 
his  works.  Very  few  of  his  pictures  have  been  engraved, 
one  —  '  Una  entering  the  Cave  of  Corecea  '  —  was  the 
Art-Union  subscription  plate  for  1842.  Another,  'The 
Eape  of  Europa,'  painted  for  the  late  Earl  of  Egremont, 
was  engraved  by  Charles  Heath  ;  and  those  in  the  Vernon 
Gallery,  and  some  others,  have  been  published  in  the 
Art-Journal.  He  died  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law, 
P.  Dewint,  in  Upper  Gower  Street,  London,  on  the  30th  ( 
of  December,  1839,  in  his  54th  year.  A  large  number  of  _ 
his  works  were  collected  for  exhibition  at  the  British 
Institution  in  1840. 

WILLIAM  COLLINS,  E.A.,  was  the  son  of  a  painter  and 
picture-cleaner,  a  native  of  Wicklow,  and  author,  among 
many  other  publications,  of  a  novel  entitled  "  Memoirs  of 
a  Picture,"  a  poem  on  the  Slave  Trade,  and  a  Life  of 
George  Morland.  His  mother  was  a  Scottish  lady  from 
the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh,  and  gave  birth  to  her  distin- 
guished son  in  Great  Titchfield  Street,  London,  on  the 
18th  of  September,  1788.  When  a  boy,  his  father's 
friend,  George  Morland,  allowed  him  to  stand  beside  him 
while  he  was  painting,  and  thus  cherished  his  natural 
taste  for  art,  and  improved  his  skill  in  drawing.  In  1807 
he  entered,  at  the  same  time  with  Etty,  the  schools  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy,  and  sent  two  small  views  on  Millbank  to 
the  exhibition.  In  1809  he  carried  off  the  silver  medal 
for  a  drawing  from  the  life,  and  in  that  year  sent  two 
more  pictures  to  the  exhibition :  they  were  '  Boys  at 
Breakfast,'  and  '  Boys  with  a  Bird's  Nest.'  Every  sub- 
sequent year  he  produced  other  pictures  in  the  same  style, 
which  were  exhibited  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  or  the 
British  Institution. 

In  1812  he  lost  his  father,  who  died  in  pecuniary  diffi- 
culties, and  his  increased  responsibilities  in  having  to 
support  his  mother  and  brother,  only  led  to  more  earnest 
efforts.  In  this  year  he  painted  '  The  Sale  of  the  Pet 


366  HISTORY  OF  THE  EOYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

Lamb,'  perhaps  suggested  by  the  disposal  of  all  the  house- 
hold property  of  his  home  to  pay  off  his  father's  debts. 
For  some  time  he  painted  portraits  to  increase  the  family 
income,  but  groups  of  children  engaged  in  their  sports, 
attracted  his  chief  attention.  Thus  in  1814  he  painted 
'  Bird-Catchers,'  one  of  the  best  of  his  early  works,  now 
in  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne's  collection  at  Bowood. 
Until  this  time  he  continued  his  studies  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  but  was  then  elected  an  Associate,  and  began 
to  enlarge  the  range  of  his  subjects,  commencing  a  series 
of  pictures  connected  with  the  haunts  and  habits  of 
fishermen  on  the  coast.  The  first  of  these  was  '  Shrimp- 
Boys  at  Cromer,'  exhibited  in  1816.  Another,  'A  Scene 
on  the  Coast  of  Norfolk,'  (1818),  is  now  in  Sir  Eobert 
Peel's  collection  at  Dray  ton  Manor.  In  1820  he  was 
elected  E.A.,  and  presented  as  his  diploma  picture  'The 
Young  Anglers.'  For  the  next  sixteen  years  he  con- 
tinued without  intermission  to  exhibit  from  three  to  five 
pictures  of  this  class  annually,  and  found  ready  patrons 
for  them,  although  at  only  moderate  prices.  Sir  Eobert. 
Peel  secured  '  The  Cherry  Sellers,'  '  Fishermen  getting 
out  their  Nets,'  'A  Frost  Scene,'  and  others.  During 
this  period  he  painted  also  those  charming  works  '  Happy 
as  a  King,'  '  Leaving  Home,'  and  '  Sunday.' 

The  years  1837  and  1838  were  spent  on  the  Continent. 
It  was  during  his  stay  in  Italy  that  he  caught  a  severe  ill- 
ness, by  imprudently  sketching  in  the  noon-day  sun,  which 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  disease  of  which  he  died.  In 
one  of  his  letters  to  Wilkie  he  expresses  his  admiration  of 
the  EafTaeU.es  in  the  Vatican,  and  the  frescoes  of  Michael 
Angelo,  which,  he  says,  "  so  far  from  disappointing  me, 
surpassed  not  only  all  I  have  ever  seen,  but  ah1  I  had  ever 
conceived  of  these  truly  inspired  men."  At  the  same 
time  Collins  was  studying  the  living  nature  around  him 

*/         O  O 

in  the  peasantry  of  Italy,  and  the  surprise  of  the  visi- 
tors to  the  exhibition  of  1839  was  great  at  seeing 
'  Poor  Travellers  at  a  Capuchin  Convent  near  Vico,' 


CH.  IX.]  WILLIAM  COLLINS  367 

'  Young  Lazzaroni  playing,'  and  '  A  Scene  near  Subiaco,' 
by  the  author  of  the  familiar  sea-side  views  on  our  own 
coast.  Many  similar  works  to  these  foUowed  in  subse- 
quent years,  intermingled  with  others  of  a  loftier  character, 
chosen  from  religious  subjects.  Of  these  latter,  '  Our 
Saviour  with  the  Doctors,'  was  the  first,  painted  in  1840, 
the  year  in  which  he  visited  Germany ;  followed  by  '  The 
Two  Disciples  at  Emmaus,'  in  18 41,  "'The  Virgin  and 
Child,'  '  A  Patriarch,'  &c.  With  his  increasing  years  he 
grew  in  deep  and  earnest  piety,  and  sought  to  represent 
the  themes  on  which  his  thoughts  delighted  to  rest. 

He  did  not,  however,  desert  the  subjects  by  which  he 
had  acquired  fame,  and  which  he  depicted  with  such  a  life- 
like truthfulness,  for  in  1842  he  visited  the  Shetland 
Isles  to  gather  fresh  materials,  and  in  that  and  subse- 
quent years  he  painted  '  A  Windy  Day,'  '  Cromer  Sands,' 
'  Shrimpers  Hastening  Home,'  and  in  1845  '  Meadfoot 
Bay.'  This  last  was  commenced  at  Torquay,  where  he 
went  for  health,  having  suffered  for  months  previously 
from  disease  of  the  heart,  which  increased  in  its  dis- 
tressing symptoms,  although  he  did  not  lose  his  power 
of  painting,  or  his  energy  in  pursuing  it  to  the  end  of 
his  life.  His  last  work,  '  Early  Morning,'  painted  under 
much  bodily  suffering  and  prostration  of  strength,  is  a 
noble  picture,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Gillott  of 
Birmingham.  Buskin  says  of  this  work,  "  I  have  never 
seen  the  oppression  of  sunlight  in  a  clear,  lurid,  rainy 
atmosphere  more  perfectly  or  faithfully  rendered."  In- 
deed in  all  his  works  he  exhibited  the  bright  side  of  life 
and  of  nature,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  his  pictures 
the  mind  finds  true  enjoyment.  He  died,  after  acute 
suffering,  at  his  house  No.  1  Devonport  Street,  Hyde 
Park  Gardens,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1847,  in  his  59th 
year.  He  had  previously  lived  for  three  years  at  No.  85 
Oxford  Terrace.  He  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Mary,  Paddington,  where  a  handsome 
monument,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  was  erected  to  his 


368  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

memory  by  his  widow  and  sons.  In  1840  he  was 
appointed  Librarian  to  the  Eoyal  Academy,  but  finding 
its  duties  more  onerous  than  he  could  conscientiously 
discharge,  he  resigned  the  office  in  1842. 

Collins'  pictures  are  thoroughly  English  and  natural. 
He  studied  the  simple  habits  of  country  children,  observed 
the  characteristics  of  rural  and  coast  scenery,  and  com- 
bined them  together  so  artistically,  that  a  purpose  is  evi- 
dent in  every  group,  and  an  individuality  in  every  scene 
he  painted.  There  was  a  sunshine  and  gladness  in  all  his 
scenes,  the  reflex  of  his  own  happy  spirit,  which  even  in 
the  darkest  hours  of  trouble  maintained  its  serenity,  and 
found  comfort,  as  he  tells  us,  "  in  looking  upward." 
Form,  colour,  and  distance  were  all  carefully  studied ; 
but  with  all  this  exactness  of  detail,  there  was  the  breadth 
and  vigour  of  touch  which  showed  that  he  had  an  eye 
for  general  effect,  and  a  command  over  his  materials 
which  enabled  him  to  charm  the  eye  of  every  beholder 
of  his  pictures.  Several  are  in  the  Vernon  and  Sheep- 
shanks Galleries — 'The  Shrimpers,'  '  Happy  as  a  King,' 
'  The  Stray  Kitten,'  '  Eustic  Civility,'  and  some  Italian 
scenes  among  them.  All  the  best  private  collections  in 
the  country  contain  specimens  of  his  skill.  Among  his 
patrons  were  George  IV.,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  the  late  Lord  Liverpool,  and  Sir 
E.  Peel,  Sir  J.  F.  Heathcote,  and  other  able  judges  of  art. 
In  1822  he  married  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Geddes, 
A.E.A.,  and  sister  of  Mrs.  Carpenter,  the  well-known  por- 
trait painter,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons.  The  elder, 
William  Wilkie  Collins,  wrote  an  excellent  life  of  his 
father  (two  vols.  1848),  and  besides  being  the  author  of 
several  popular  works  of  fiction,  is  a  constant  contributor 
to  the  periodical  literature  of  the  present  day ;  the 
younger,  C.  A.  Collins,  is  a  painter  of  the  Pre-Eaflaelite 
school. 

The  private  personal  character  of  Collins  is  as  honour- 
able to  him  as  his  position  among  English  artists ;  for 


CH.  IX.]  COLLINS  — COOPER  369 

those  who  knew  him  intimately  describe  him,  "  as  gene- 
rous and  encouraging  to  young  talent ;  he  was  always 
eager  to  accord  praise — neither  jealousy  nor  envy  ever 
gave  the  remotest  taint  to  his  character  ;  men  of  note  in 
all  professions  were  proud  to  be  his  associates,  for  he  was 
fitted  to  take  his  place  among  the  best  of  them — his 
gracious  manner  and  most  gentlemanly  bearing,  no  less 
than  his  cultivated  understanding,  exciting  the  esteem 
and  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  for  no 
man  was  more  thoroughly  embued  with  the  gentle  and 

o      •/ 

kindly  yet  manly  attributes  which  excite  affection." 

ABEAHAM  COOPER,  B.A.,  was  born  in  September  1787,  in 
Red  Lion  Street,  Holborn,  where  his  father  was  a  tobac- 
conist, but  not  being  successful  he  took  an  inn  at  Hollo- 
way,  where,  being  unacquainted  with  the  business,  he 
lost  his  property,  and  was  thus  compelled  to  remove  his 
son  from  school,  in  his  thirteenth  year,  to  make  his  way  in 
the  world.  For  some  time  he  took  part  in  the  eques- 
trian pageants  and  mimic  battles  performed  at  Astley's 
under  the  direction  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Davis.  Making 
sketches  of  horses,  dogs,  and  ships,  had  occupied  his 
leisure  hours  at  school ;  but  it  was  not  till  his  22nd  year 
that  he  made  his  first  attempt  at  painting,  prompted  by 
his  desire  to  possess  a  portrait  of  a  horse  named  '  Frolic,' 
belonging  to  Mr.  Henry  Meux,  of  Ealing,  which  he  had 
ridden  and  driven  till  it  became  a  great  favourite  with 
him.  He  could  not  afford  to  employ  an  artist  to  paint  a 
picture  of  the  animal,  but  bought  an  introduction  to  oil 
painting,  then  (1809)  recently  published  by  Laurie  and 
Whittle,  and,  after  attentively  studying  it,  made  a  picture 
of  the  horse  far  beyond  his  own  expectations,  and  suffi- 
ciently excellent  as  a  work  of  art  to  attract  the  admira- 
tion of  the  owner  of  the  animal,  who  insisted  on  adding 
it  to  his  collection,  and  who  was  afterwards  a  liberal 
patron  of  the  artist. 

From  this  time,  Cooper  devoted  himself  exclusively 
VOL.  i.  B  B 


370  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX 

and  enthusiastically  to  his  profession,  and  his  first  success 
led  him  to  the  especial  study  of  animals.  The  spirited 
style,  characteristic  truthfulness,  and  refined  taste  which 
he  displayed  in  his  pictures  of  race-horses,  led  to  his 
speedily  obtaining  extensive  patronage  from  the  first 
sportsmen  of  the  day.  His  pictures  of  this  kind  are  very 
numerous,  and  are  found  in  the  collections  of  the  Dukes 
of  Grafton,  Bedford,  and  Marlborough,  the  Marquis  of 
Stafford,  Sir  J.  Swinburne,  Colonel  Udney,  and  others. 
At  the  outset  of  his  career  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
many  of  his  works  engraved  in  the  "  Sporting  Magazine." 
In  1816  he  was  awarded  a  premium  of  150  guineas 
by  the  British  Institution  for  his  picture  of '  The  Battle  of 
Waterloo.'  In  1817  he  became  an  Associate,  and  in 
1820  a  Eoyal  Academician — his  fine  picture  of  'Marston 
Moor,'  exhibited  in  the  preceding  year,  having  doubtless 
led  to  his  attaining  this  honour.  In  1812  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Artists'  Fund,  and  subsequently  held  the 
appointment  of  chairman  to  that  institution  for  five  years. 
For  a  long  period  he  has  been  a  constant  and  extensive 
contributor  of  pictures  of  groups  of  animals,  battle  scenes 
of  olden  times,  the  sports  of  the  field,  &c.,  to  the  exhibi- 
tions. Two  small  pictures  painted  by  him  in  1818,  i  A 
Donkey  and  Spaniel,'  and  'A  Grey  Horse  at  a  Stable  Door,' 
are  in  the  Sheepshanks'  collection  at  South  Kensington. 

The  thirty-two  painters  who  were  added  to  the  num- 
ber of  Eoyal  Academicians  during  West's  presidentship, 
and  whose  career  we  have  thus  briefly  traced,  may  be 
classified  generaUy  as  five  historical,  twelve  genre,  eleven 
portrait,  and  four  landscape  ;  but  some  of  them  pursued 
more  than  one  of  these  branches  of  the  art. 

Six  SCULPTOKS  were  elected  during  the  same  period 
(1792-1820),  these  were,  John  Flaxman,  in  1800; 
Charles  Eossi,  in  1802  ;  Nathaniel  Marchant,  in  1809  ; 
Sir  Eichard  Westmacott,  in  1811  ;  William  Theed,  in 
1813  ;  and  Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  in  1818. 


OH.  IX.]  JOHN  FLAXMAN  371 

JOHN  FLAXMAN,  E.A.,  was  born  at  York  on  the  6th  June, 
1755,  but  was  brought  to  London  when  not  more  than 
six  months  old.  His  father  was  a  figure-moulder,  and 
opened  a  shop  first  in  New  Street,  Covent  Garden,  and 
afterwards  in  the  Strand.  It  was  in  this  humble  studio 
that  the  future  eminent  sculptor  received  the  first  impres- 
sions of  taste  for  art.  A  natural  weakness  of  constitution, 
and  a  delicacy  of  health  which  continued  for  some  years, 
compelled  him  to  pursue  solitary  and  sedentary  amuse- 
ments, and  he  thus  strengthened  his  naturally  enthusiastic 
mind  by  study  and  thought.  As  a  boy,  he  was  unable  to 
walk  without  crutches,  and  while  sitting  in  his  father's 
shop  he  acquired,  in  a  desultory  way,  the  habit  of  observ- 
ing and  portraying  the  forms  of  the  objects  around  him. 
He  was  so  fortunate  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  Eev. 
Mr.  Matthew,  who  occasionally  visited  his  father's  shop, 
observed  the  delicate  boy  sometimes  reading  Homer  and 
sometimes  modelling,  took  him  into  his  house,  and  intro- 
duced him  to  his  wife,  a  lady  of  taste  and  great  accomplish- 
ments, who  took  great  delight  in  making  the  interesting 
boy  acquainted  with  the  beauties  of  Homer  and  Virgil, 
while  he  would  attempt  to  embody  with  his  pencil  such 
poetic  images  or  parts  of  the  narration  as  most  caught 
his  fancy.  By  these  kind  and  judicious  friends  he  was 
encouraged  to  study  the  original  languages  of  the  classic 
authors  he  loved,  and  though  he  was  chiefly  his  own 
tutor,  he  made  sufficient  progress  to  enable  him  to  read 
the  master  poets  of  antiquity,  if  not  very  critically,  yet  with 
tolerable  readiness,  to  enter  into  their  spirit,  and  to  follow 
their  conceptions.  Evidence  of  this  is  afforded  in  his 
compositions  after  Homer  and  ^Eschylus. 

His  first  commission  was  received  from  Mr.  Crutchley, 
of  Sunninghill  Park,  for  six  classic  designs  executed  in 
black  chalk,  the  figures  standing  about  two  feet  high. 
They  were  much  commended  by  their  owner  ;  and  thus 
encouraged,  Floxman  sought  admission,  in  1769,  when  in 
his  fifteenth  year,  as  a  student  at  the  Royal  Academy,  and 

B  n  2 


372  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [Cn.  IX. 

for  a  considerable  time  afterwards  supported  himself  by 
modelling  for  different  persons,  especially  for  the  Wedg- 
woods. These  works  were  exceedingly  graceful,  and  are 
now  eagerly  sought  for,  although  not  esteemed  as  they 
deserved  to  be,  at  the  time.  In  1770  he  exhibited  his 
first  work  at  the  Academy,  a  figure  of  Neptune,  in  wax. 
After  obtaining  the  student's  silver  medal,  he  competed 
for  the  gold  medal  with  Engleheart,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
Although  he  shed  tears  of  disappointment,  he  was  not 
discouraged,  but  continued  to  study  and  to  labour  with 
unabated  energy ;  and  by  a  simple  mode  of  life,  found  the 
small  remuneration  he  obtained  more  than  sufficient 
for  his  wants.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  exhibited  thirteen 
different  works  at  the  Academy,  but  all  in  plaster,  as  he 
had  not  yet  ventured  to  work  in  marble. 

In  the  year  1782  he  married  Miss  Ann  Denman,  left 
his  father's  house,  and  took  one  of  his  own  at  No.  27 
Wardour  Street.  When  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds  heard  of  it, 
he  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  So,  Flaxman,  I  am  told  you 
are  married  ;  if  so,  Sir,  you  are  ruined  for  an  artist." 
Happily,  however,  his  future  career  fully  disproved  the 
President's  prediction.  Shortly  afterwards  he  executed  a 
monument  of  Collins,  the  poet,  for  Chichester  Cathedral, 
and  one  of  Mrs.  Morley,  for  Gloucester  Cathedral.  In 
1787  he  visited  Italy,  accompanied  by  his  amiable  and 
accomplished  wife,  to  whom  he  had  made  known  the 
President's  lament  on  his  marriage,  and  who  had  deter- 
mined to  help  and  not  to  hinder  him  in  his  career  as  an 
artist.  Their  residence  in  Eome  was  in  the  Via  Felice. 
There  she  was  ever  at  his  side,  aiding  him  by  her  know- 
ledge, and  advising  him  by  her  taste.  They  loved  each 
other  truly,  read  the  same  books,  thought  the  same 
thoughts,  and  found  peace  and  satisfaction  only  in  each 
other's  company. 

While  at  Eome,  Flaxman  designed,  for  Mrs.  Hare 
Taylor,  a  series  of  thirty-nine  subjects  from  the  "  Iliad," 
and  thirty-four  from  the  "  Odyssey."  For  these  composi- 


Cn.  IX.]  JOHN  FLAXMAN  373 

tions,  since  so  universally  admired  as  displaying  the  intel- 
lectual power  of  art,  he  received  the  small  sum  of  fifteen 
shillings  each  ;  but  he  was  well  rewarded  by  the  fame 
and  the  patronage  they  won  for  him.  For  the  Countess 
Spencer  he  composed  a  series  of  thirty-six  illustrations 
of  "  ^Eschylus,"  receiving  a  guinea  for  each ;  for  the 
Bishop  of  Deny  he  executed  the  group  of  '  Athamas '  for 
£600,  and  is  said  to  have  lost  money  by  the  commission. 
For  the  accomplished  Thomas  Hope,  he  executed  the 
beautiful  group  of  '  Cephalus  and  Aurora ; '  for  him  he 
also  produced  the  three  series  of  sublime  compositions 
from  Dante,  amounting  to  109  subjects  (receiving  a  guinea 
for  each),  viz.,  38  from  the  "  Inferno,"  38  from  the  "  Pur- 
gatorio,"  and  33  from  the  "  Paradise." 

After  a  stay  of  seven  years  in  Italy  he  returned  to 
England,  and  took  up  his  abode  at  No.  7  Buckingham 
Street,  Fitzroy  Square.  Shortly  afterwards  he  produced 
his  noble  monument  to  '  Lord  Mansfield,  seated  between 
Wisdom  and  Justice,'  for  which  he  received  £2500.  On 
his  wife's  birthday,  2nd  of  October,  1796,  he  presented 
to  her,  as  a  tribute  of  affection,  a  book  containing 
forty  pen  and  pencil  designs,  with  poetical  descriptions 
depicting  the  progress  of  the  Knight  of  the  Blazing 
Cross,  —  a  Christian  hero,  conquering  by  faith,  fortitude, 
and  devotion.  In  early  life  he  had  sought  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Stothard,  and  his  usual  present  to  his  wife  on  her 
birthday  was  a  small  picture  by  that  artist.  In  1 7 97  he  was 
unanimously  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy. 
In  January  of  that  year  a  letter  by  him  appeared  in  the 
"  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  addressed  to  the  President  and 
Council,  in  opposition  to  the  proposal  made  at  that  time 
to  remove  from  Eome  the  fine  works  of  painting  and 
sculpture  to  form  a  university  at  Paris  where  all 
nations  might  study  them,  in  which  he  argued  that  as 
France  did  not  appear  to  have  any  claim  upon  Eome  for 
compensation,  as  good  a  plea  might  be  urged  with  as 
much  reason  by  any  other  country  in  Europe.  A  second 


374  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

letter  on  the  same  subject  subsequently  appeared  in  the 
same  periodical. 

In  1797  he  exhibited  his  monument  of  the  Oriental 
scholar,  Sir  William  Jones,  now  at  University  College, 
Oxford ;  and  three  bas-reliefs  of  subjects  from  the  New 
Testament — 'The  Eaising  of  the  Daughter  of  Jairus,' 
'  Comfort  and  Help  the  Weak-hearted,'  and  '  Feed  the 
Hungry.'  These  may  be  considered  the  commencement 
of  a  series  of  Scriptural  compositions  intended  to  show 
that  the  simple  truths  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel  were 
fully  capable  of  inspiring  the  sculptor,  and  supplying  him 
with  appropriate  themes  for  his  art.  Of  the  same 
character  are  the  reliefs  for  Sir  F.  Baring's  family  monu- 
ment in  Micheldean  Church,  which  express  the  ideas  con- 
tained in  the  sentences  "  Thy  will  be  done,"  "  Thy  kingdom 
come,"  and  "Deliver  us  from  evil."  A  monument  to 
Mary  Lushington,  of  Lewisham,  Kent,  is  a  beautiful  illus- 
tration of  the  text  "  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn," 
representing  a  mother  sorrowing  for  her  daughter,  and 
being  comforted  by  an  angel.  His  groups  of  '  Come  ye 
Blessed,'  '  Lead  us  not  into  Temptation,'  l  Charity,'  and 
the  monuments  of  the  Countess  Spencer,  and  Mrs.  Tighe, 
the  poetess,  are,  like  many  of  his  works,  full  of  religious 
sentiment  and  fervour — the  outward  expression  of  a  feel- 
ing deeply  rooted  in  his  own  heart.  In  more  common 
subjects  his  conceptions  were  not  so  successful  as  in  these 
lofty  themes  —  his  monuments  to  Nelson  and  Howe,  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral  being  far  inferior  to  the  works  above 
referred  to.  His  proposal  to  erect  a  colossal  figure  of 
Britannia,  200  feet  high,  to  commemorate  the  victories  of 
the  British  navy,  which  was  to  be  placed  on  Greenwich 
Hill,  was  treated  as  a  visionary  and  impracticable  scheme, 
and  no  attempt  was  made  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

In  1800  he  was  elected  a  Eoyal  Academician,  when  he 
presented  as  his  diploma  work  a  marble  group  of '  Apollo 
and  Marpessa,'  fine  in  conception,  but  deficient  in  the 
delicacy  and  mechanism  of  the  art,  in  which  he  never 


Cn.  IX.]  JOHN   FLAXMAN  375 

greatly  excelled.  In  1809  he  proposed  to  the  Academy 
a  plan  for  promoting  and  improving  the  taste  for  historical 
painting,  and  in  1810  he  was  appointed  to  fill  the  office  of 
Professor  of  Sculpture,  which  was  instituted  in  that  year 
at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In  1811  he  commenced  the 
delivery  of  his  interesting  and  useful  lectures  on  the 
subject.  They  were  ten  in  number  :  English,  Egyptian, 
and  Grecian  sculpture  were  treated  of  in  three  lectures ; 
science,  beauty,  composition,  style,  and  drapery,  in  five 
more  ;  and  ancient  and  modern  art  in  the  two  conclud- 
ing ones  of  the  series.  On  his  first  appearance  as  the  new 
professor  he  was  greeted  with  loud  applause,  but  his  sin- 
gular gravity  of  manner,  and  the  calm  and  unimpassioned 
tone  in  which  he  read  his  discourses,  made  them  a  little 
heavy  ;  and  those  who  contrasted  them  with  the  eloquent 
harangues  of  Fuseli,  seemed  to  forget  that  the  proper 
ami  of  such  lectures  is  to  instruct  rather  than  to  excite 
the  students.  Campbell  said  of  these  discourses,  "  It  is 
fearfully  difficult  to  be  eloquent  in  teaching  art.  The 
floor  of  didactic  language,  constructed  for  the  tread  of 
sober  ideas,  is  perilously  shaken  by  the  tramp  of  impas- 
sioned enthusiasm.  Flaxman  is  all  sobriety  of  style,  and 
he  is  blamed  for  dryness  and  coldness.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  pleasing  everybody."  Flaxman  wrote,  besides 
these  lectures,  several  anonymous  contributions  to  art- 
literature  ;  among  these  were  a  discourse  on  the  genius 
and  character  of  Banks,  a  critical  description  of  Eomney's 
works  for  Hayley's  life  of  the  artist,  and  several  articles 
for  Bees'  "  Cyclopaedia." 

In  1818  he  modelled  the  'Shield  of  Achilles,'  after- 
wards cast  in  silver  gilt  for  George  IV.  At  this  period 
also  he  executed  '  Psyche  '  and  '  The  Archangel  Michael 
and  Satan,' — the  latter  a  work  of  the  first  order,  whether 
we  consider  the  grandeur  of  the  subject,  or  the  sublime 
conception  with  which  it  is  rendered.  Up  to  this  period 
of  his  life,  all  had  been  prosperous  and  peaceful  in  the 
good  man's  life  ;  he  had  acquired  fame  and  competence, 


376  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

and  possessed  a  happy  home ;  but  in  1820  he  suffered  the 
sad  affliction  of  the  loss  of  his  affectionate  companion 
and  wife,  and  thus  a  blank  was  created  at  his  own  fire- 
side which  no  outward  prosperity  could  supply.  Soon 
afterwards  age  and  infirmity  began  to  tell  upon  him, 
until  he  died,  on  the  7th  December,  1826,  at  his  house 
in  Buckingham  Street,  Fitzroy  Square.  He  had  been 
able  to  continue  his  ordinary  pursuits,  although  occa- 
sionally interrupted  by  sickness,  till  within  a  few  days  of 
his  death.  The  last  work  upon  which  he  was  engaged 
was  a  bust  of  John  P.  Kenible.  He  was  buried  in  the 
graveyard  of  St.  Giles's  in  the  Fields,  in  the  Old  St. 
Pancras  Eoad,  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month,  and  wTas 
followed  to  the  grave  by  the  President  and  several  mem- 
bers of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  The  following  inscription 
was  placed  on  his  tomb  :  "  John  Flaxman,  E.A.,  Professor 
of  Sculpture,  whose  mortal  life  was  a  constant  prepara- 
tion for  a  blessed  immortality :  his  angelic  spirit  returned 
to  the  Divine  Giver  on  7th  December,  1826,  in  the  72nd 
year  of  his  age."  This  is  followed  by  another  to  the 
memory  of  his  sister,  who  died  in  1833,  aged  65.  The 
best  portrait  of  him  is  that  by  Jackson ;  it  conveys  a 
fine  idea  of  his  gentle  yet  firm  expression,  and  of  his 
broad  and  high  forehead,  so  fuh1  of  majestic  thought. 
There  is  a  portrait  of  him  by  Eomney  in  the  National  Por- 
trait Gallery,  and  a  statue  by  Watson  in  University  CoUege. 

In  his  domestic  life  he  was  thoroughly  happy  ;  he  was 
mild  and  gentle  to  ah1,  "  the  best  master  God  ever  made," 
as  his  workmen  said ;  generous  in  all  his  dealings,  and 
never  mean,  though  always  frugal ;  humble  in  his  own 
spirit,  simple  in  his  dress  and  habits  of  life ;  never 
gloomy,  but  always  cheerful ;  weak  and  fragile  in  out- 
ward frame,  but  large  and  strong  in  soul;  enduring 
pain,  but  full  of  "  meekness,  gratitude,  and  faith." 

As  a  sculptor,  his  historical  statues  have  been  com- 
mended for  their  fine  sentiment,  but  censured  for  a  degree 
of  roughness  in  execution.  One  of  his  best  works  of 


On.  IX.]  FLAXMAN  — ROSSI  ,       377 

this  class,  in  addition  to  those  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, is  the  statue  of  Sir  J.  Eeynolds  in  St.  Paul's.  But 
his  chief  works  were  for  the  churches — for  so  forcibly 
did  he  embody  the  poetical  passages  of  the  Bible  in  com- 
memorating the  dead,  that  in  monumental  sculptures  of 
this  description  he  has  never  been  excelled.  These 
works  are  very  numerous,  and  are  found  in  the  East  and 
West  Indies,  and  in  Italy,  as  well  as  scattered  over  this 
country — so  widely  did  his  fame  extend.  His  designs 
and  compositions  might  be  numbered  by  thousands,  and 
his  genius  is  perhaps  more  remarkably  developed  in  these 
drawings  than  in  modelling  and  executing  larger  works. 

The  property  he  left  at  his  death,  sworn  at  £4000, 
was  bequeathed  to  his  wife's  younger  sister,  Miss  Denman, 
who  held  possession  of  all  the  contents  of  his  studio  for 
twenty-five  years,  when,  feeling  that  they  might  worthily 
be  entrusted  to  the  keeping  of  the  Council  of  University 
College,  she  presented  them  to  that  institution,  and  they 
are  now  collected  in  the  cupola  of  the  College,  which  is 
called  in  consequence  the  Flaxman  Hall,  and  contains 
about  140  working  models  and  casts  by  one  of  the  most 
poetic  and  elevated,  as  well  as  the  most  classic  and  re- 
fined of  our  English  sculptors.  In  1861  Miss  Denman 
died,  and  the  drawings  and  models  remaining  in  her  pos- 
session have  recently  been  sold  by  auction.  A  proposal 
was  made  that  they  should  be  purchased  by  subscription, 
to  enable  the  London  University  to  augment  their  art- 
treasures  in  the  Flaxman  Gallery,  and  render  them  avail- 
able for  public  enjoyment  and  instruction.  The  late 
lamented  Prince  Consort  and  the  Royal  Academy  headed 
the  list  of  subscriptions  for  the  purpose,  but  the  amount 
required  was  not  obtained. 

JOHN  CHARLES  FELIX  Rossi,  R.A.,  was  born  in  17G2, 
at  Nottingham,  where  his  father,  a  native  of  Sienna,  prac- 
tised as  a  medical  man,  although  he  was  not  a  licensed 
practitioner.  At  an  early  age  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 


378  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

sculptor,  named  Luccatella,  who  employed  him  after  his 
term  of  apprenticeship  was  completed  as  a  journeyman, 
at  eighteen  shillings  a  week ;  but  while  so  engaged  Eossi 
discovered  that  his  own  powers  were  at  least  equal  to  his 
master's,  and  he  demanded  higher  wages.  Although  he 
obtained  this  advancement,  he  now  felt  a  desire  to 
try  his  own  abilities  in  London,  and  in  1781  became 
a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy,  that  he  might  qualify 
himself  for  a  higher  position  as  an  artist.  In  November 
of  that  year  he  obtained  the  silver  medal,  and  in  1784 
the  gold  medal, — the  work  for  which  he  gained  the  latter 
being  a  sculptured  group,  representing  '  Venus  conduct- 
ing Helen  to  Paris.'  With  this  honour  he  also  obtained 
the  allowance  of  a  travelling  student  awarded  by  the 
Academy,  and  went  to  Borne 'for  three  years  in  1785. 

On  his  return  to  London,  he  employed  himself  on 
classical  and  monumental  works,  in  a  style  at  once  manly 
and  vigorous,  but  not  remarkable  for  any  special  excel- 
lence. While  at  Eome  he  executed  a  '  Mercury '  in 
marble,  and  subsequently  a  recumbent  figure  of  '  Eve ; ' 
'  Edwin  and  Leonora,'  '  Venus  and  Cupid,'  '  Celadon  and 
Amelia,'  'Musidora,'  and  other  similar  subjects.  Sir 
Eobert  Peel  gave  him  a  commission  for  a  statue  of  the 
poet  Thomson,  and  he  was  employed  to  execute  a  colossal 
figure  of  Britannia  for  the  Exchange  at  Liverpool. 

But  his  principal  works  were  the  monuments  he  de- 
signed of  the  heroes  of  the  war,  for  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 
One  to  Lord  Cornwallis  in  the  nave  (opposite  to  Flaxman's 
Nelson)  is  a  pyramidal  group,  the  Marquis  on  a  pedestal 
forming  the  apex ;  below  him  three  allegorical  figures  of 
Britannia,  Begareth,  and  Ganges,  impersonations  of  the 
British  empire  in  the  East.  Another  to  Lord  Heathfield, 
is  a  single  figure,  with  an  alto-relievo  on  the  pedestal,  of 
Victory  coming  to  crown  a  warrior  on  the  sea-shore  with 
laurel.  Near  this  is  a  monument  to  Captain  Faulkner, 
E.N.,  killed  on  board  the  Blanche  frigate  in  1795,  in 
which  Neptune  is  represented  sitting  on  a  rock  catching. 


CH.  IX.]         ROSSI  —  MAECHANT  —  WESTMACOTT  379 

the  dying  sailor,  and  Victory  about  to  crown  him  with 
laurel.  In  the  north  transept  is  a  monument  to  Lord 
Eodney,  a  pyramidal  group,  the  Admiral  forming  the 
apex,  and  beneath  him  Fame  communicating  his  deeds  to 
History.  In  ah1  of  these  Eossi  followed  the  taste  of  the 
period  in  which  he  lived,  when  mythology  was  blended 
with  fact,  and  the  simplicity  of  truth  sacrificed  to  the 
classic  allusions  to  heathen  gods  and  goddesses,  which 
was  then  thought  not  incongruous  even  in  a  Christian 
temple,  but  which  certainly  would  now  be  felt  to  be  in- 
consistent, and  a  violation  of  good  taste. 

In  1798  Eossi  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1802  a 
Eoyal  Academician.  The  Prince  Eegent  appointed  him 
sculptor  to  his  Eoyal  Highness,  and  employed  him  in 
decorating  Buckingham  Palace.  He  was  subsequently 
nominated  sculptor  to  William  IV. ;  but  in  his  latter 
years  he  found  little  occupation  in  his  profession,  and  was 
left  to  depend  chiefly  upon  the  pension  which  he  received 
from  the  Eoyal  Academy.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
had  eight  children  by  each  wife.  He  died  on  the  21st 
February,  1839. 

NATHANIEL  MAECHANT,  E.A.,  born  in  1739,  was 
elected  an  Associate  in  1791,  and  a  Eoyal  Academician 
in  1809.  He  was  also  a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
gem  sculptor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  seal  engraver  to  the 
King,  chief  engraver  of  stamps,  and  assistant  engraver  to 
the  mint.  He  exhibited  a  large  number  of  intaglios, 
medals,  and  poetical  designs  for  cameos  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  and  was  very  eminent  in  the  branch  of  art  he 
followed.  He  died,  much  respected,  at  Somerset  Place, 
Strand,  in  April  1816,  in  his  77th  year. 

Sir  EICHAED  WESTMACOTT,  E.A.,  was  born  in  London 
in  1775,  and  was  the  son  of  a  sculptor  of  some  eminence 
in  his  day.  In  his  father's  studio,  in  Mount  Street, 
Grosvenor  Square,  he  first  learnt  his  art,  and  in  1793 


380  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

went  to  Eome,  where  he  had  the  advantage  of  being 
taught  by  Canova,  and  soon  proved  that  he  was  a  careful 
and  intelligent  student.  In  1791,  he  won  the  first  prize 
for  sculpture  at  the  Academy  of  Florence,  of  which  he 
was  elected  a  member  in  1795,  and  in  the  latter  year  he 
gained  the  first  gold  medal  from  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke 
for  a  bas-relief  of  '  Joseph  and  his  Brethren,'  the  prize 
being  offered  by  the  Pope.  He  remained  about  five  years 
in  Italy,  and  on  his  return  to  England  married  the 
daughter  of  Dr.  Wilkinson,  and  commenced  a  very 
prosperous  career  in  London,  at  14  South  Audley  Street, 
not  far  from  the  residence  of  his  father. 

The  arrangement  of  the  Townleian  marbles  in  the 
then  new  building  of  the  British  Museum  (old  Montague 
House)  was  superintended  by*  the  young  sculptor,  a  proof 
that  his  taste  and  judgment  were  at  that  time  publicly 
recognised.  His  imaginative  works  were  exceedingly 
graceful  and  chaste,  poetic  in  character,  and  classic  in 
feeling  ;  and  will  be  regarded  as  among  the  best  of  their 
class  produced  by  modern  English  sculptors.  He  fol- 
lowed the  old  Eoman  artists  in  their  purity  and  simplicity 
of  style,  approaching  almost  to  severity,  rejecting  all 
superfluous  ornaments,  and  endeavouring  even  in  his 
imaginative  subjects  to  be  natural  rather  than  ideal.  His 
knowledge  of  what  constitutes  the  highest  qualities  of 
art,  led  him  to  seek  to  be  chaste,  dignified,  and  impressive 
in  his  works,  rather  than  to  aim  at  the  highest  points  of 
grandeur  and  beauty.  In  this  style  are  '  Cupid  and 
Pysche,'  executed  for  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  now  at 
Woburn  ;  '  Euphrosyne,'  a  commission  from  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  ;  '  A  Nymph  unclasping  her  Zone,'  the  property 
of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle ;  *  The  Distressed  Mother '  (a 
duplicate  of  the  monument  to  Mrs.  Warren),  executed  for 
the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne;  4A  Sleeping  Infant,'  'Devo- 
tion,' '  A  Gipsy,'  '  Cupid  captive,'  and  many  others  less 
celebrated. 

A  large  portion  of  his  time  was  occupied  in  monu- 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  K.  WESTMACOTT  881 

mental  sculpture.  In  Westminster  Abbey  are  statues  by 
him  of  Pitt,  Fox,  Spencer  Percival,  and  Addison ;  and 
monuments  to  the  Duke  of  Montpensier,  General  Villettes, 
and  Mrs.  Warren  (widow  of  the  Bishop  of  Bangor)  and 
her  child  —  the  last  a  very  fine  and  touching  representa- 
tion, which  has  been  twice  repeated  for  private  individuals. 
In  St.  Paul's  are  monuments  to  Sir  Ealph  Abercromby, 
Lord  Denman,  Lord  Collingwood,  Captain  Cook.  Sir  Isaac 
Brock,  and  Generals  Pakenharn  and  Gibbs,  from  his  hand. 
In  the  old  hall  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  is  a  statue  of  Lord 
Erskine,  by  Westmacott,  one  of  Locke  in  University 
College,  and  of  Warren  Hastings  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Calcutta.  Several  of  our  street  monuments  were  also 
executed  by  him,  as  the  statue  of  Fox  in  Bloomsbury 
Square ;  Francis,  Duke  of  Bedford,  in  Eussell  Square ; 
and  the  Duke  of  York  for  the  Column  in  Waterloo  Place. 
He  modelled  the  'Achilles,'  in  Hyde  Park,  from  the 
statue  at  Monte  Cavallo,  Eome :  the  pediment  of  the 
British  Museum  was  also  his  work,  and  portions  of  the 
frieze  of  the  marble  arch  now  at  Cumberland  Gate,  Hyde 
Park  ;  the  last  being  undertaken  conjointly  with  Flaxman 
and  Baily.  An  alto-relievo  exhibited  in  1825,  entitled 
'  The  afflicted  Peasants ; '  a  group  in  Bronze,  '  The  Abo- 
lition of  the  Suttee,'  for  the  pedestal  to  a  statue  of  Lord 
W.  Bentinck  ;  a  basso-relievo  exhibited  in  1820,  entitled 
'Maternal  Affection,'  part  of  a  monument  erected  in 
Hurst  Church,  Berks,  to  the  memory  of  a  lady ;  and  a 
similar  ornament  to  the  pedestal  of  a  statue  of  Addison, 
representing  'The  Muses,'  are  especially  deserving  of 
commendation  among  his  works  of  that  nature. 

Westmacott  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1805,  and  a 
Koyal  Academician  in  1811,  when  he  presented,  as  his 
diploma  work,  an  alto-relievo  of  Ganymede.  In  1827 
he  succeeded  Flaxman  as  Professor  of  Sculpture,  an  office 
he  held  till  his  death.  His  lectures,  which  he  continued 
to  deliver  annually  till  1854,  evinced  that  he  was  a  man 
of  extensive  reading  and  sound  judgment.  In  them  he 


382  HISTOKY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IK. 

set  forth,  in  simple  yet  forcible  language,  the  knowledge 
he  had  acquired  by  the  study  of  the  antique,  and  by  the 
truth  and  earnestness  of  his  discourses,  rather  than  by 
any  display  of  eloquence,  he  gained  the  attention  of  the 
students.  He  received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from 
her  Majesty  soon  after  her  accession  to  the  throne,  and 
the  degree  of  D.C.L.,  from  the  University  of  Oxford,  in 
1837.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  South  Audley  Street, 
on  the  1st  of  September,  1856,  in  his  83rd  year.  For 
twenty  years  before  his  death  he  did  very  little  in  his 
profession,  but  before  that  time  he  had  spent  a  life  of  great 
activity,  he  and  Chantrey  having  for  a  long  period  divided 
the  patronage  of  the  public  in  their  branch  of  art  between 
them.  His  son  succeeded  him  as  Professor  of  Sculpture  at 
the  Koyal  Academy,  in  July  1857. 

WILLIAM  THEED,  E.A.,was  born  in  1764.  He  entered 
the  schools  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  as  a  student  in  1786, 
and  at  first  practised  as  a  painter  of  historical  subjects  and 
occasionally  of  portraits.  Subsequently  he  proceeded  to 
Eome,  where  he  remained  for  several  years,  enjoying  and 
profiting  by  the  friendship  of  John  Flaxman  the  sculptor, 
and  Henry  Howard  the  talented  Secretary  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy.  The  refined  tastes  of  these  companions  led 
him  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  imitation  of  the  classic 
models  by  which  he  was  surrounded  in  Italy.  At 
Naples  he  met  and  married  a  French  lady  named  Eougeot, 
with  whom  he  travelled  through  France,  on  his  way  back 
to  England,  during  the  Eevolution  of  1793. 

Arrived  in  this  country,  he  commenced  his  new  artistic 
career  by  designing  and  modelling,  as  Flaxman  had  pre- 
viously done,  for  the  Messrs.  Wedgwood,  the  famous 
Staffordshire  potters.  After  some  years  thus  spent,  he 
subsequently  obtained  an  engagement  to  design  for 
Messrs.  Eundell  and  Bridge,  the  jewellers,  for  whom  he 
constructed  the  models  for  presentation  works  in  gold, 
silver,  &c.  They  allowed  him  a  house,  and  a  very  hand- 


CH.  IX.]    '  THEED  —  CHANTREY  383 

some   salary   during   the   fourteen    years    in    which   he 
remained  in  their  employment. 

In  1811  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  in  1813 
became  a  Eoyal  Academician.  On  the  last-named 
occasion  he  presented  as  his  diploma  work,  '  A  Baccha- 
nalian Group,'  in  bronze.  He  produced  several  very 
interesting  and  creditable  works  in  sculpture  during  the 
last  few  years  of  his  career ;  among  them  a  large  statue 
of  '  Mercury,'  a  group  of  '  Thetis  bearing  the  arms  of 
Achilles,'  in  bronze,  life  size  (the  original  of  which  is  in 
the  possession  of  her  Majesty,  and  a  repetition  of  it  in  the 
collection  of  Mr.  Hope) ;  a  very  beautiful  monument  of 
Mr.  Westphaling,  in  the  parish  church  of  Eoss,  Hereford- 
shire ;  and  many  other  monuments  displaying  both  chaste 
design  and  skilful  execution. 

He  died  in  1817,  when  only  in  his  53rd  year,  much 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  leaving  a  small 
fortune  for  the  education  of  his  three  children.  One  of 
these,  William  Theed,  is  now  practising  as  a  sculptor, 
and  has  attained  to  considerable  eminence  in  his  profes- 
sion, having  been  largely  employed  by  the  late  Prince 
Consort  and  her  Majesty,  and  by  other  distinguished 
art-patrons. 

Sir  FRANCIS  CHANTKEY,E.  A.,  was  born  on  the  7th  of  April, 
1781,  at  Norton,  near  Sheffield.  His  father,  who  cultivated 
a  small  property  of  his  own,  died  when  he  was  a  child  of 
eight  years  old,  and  his  mother  married  again,  and  em- 
ployed her  son,  it  is  said,  to  drive  an  ass  laden  with  milk- 
cans  to  the  neighbouring  town.  His  step-father  placed  him 
with  a  grocer,  but  he  displayed  such  a  strong  predilection 
for  carving,  that  he  was  afterwards  bound  apprentice  to 
Mr.  Eamsay,  a  carver  and  gilder,  at  Sheffield  ;  finding  that 
such  work  afforded  little  scope  for  his  taste  for  real  art- 
workmanship,  he  employed  all  his  leisure  time  in  model- 
ling in  clay,  and  at  length  made  an  offer  of  £50  (the 
whole  amount  of  his  wealth)  as  compensation  to  his 


884  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

master  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  of  his  apprentice- 
ship, and  came  to  London  to  study  as  a  sculptor.  In 
1802  he  returned  to  Sheffield  to  commence  business  in 
his  new  profession,  but  he  made  no  progress  towards 
acquiring  either  fame  or  fortune  tiU  1809,  when  he 
received  an  order  from  Mr.  Daniel  Alexander,  the  archi- 
tect, for  four  colossal  busts  of  Howe,  Nelson,  St.  Vincent, 
and  Duncan,  for  the  Trinity  House  and  the  Greenwich 
Naval  Asylum.  In  the  same  year  he  married  his  cousin, 
Miss  Wale,  with  whom  he  received  £10,000,  and  was 
thus  enabled  to  establish  himself  in  his  profession.  During 
the  eight  previous  years  he  had  not  gained  £5  as  a 
modeller,  but  he  painted  portraits  in  oil,  crayon,  and 
miniature,  and  worked  as  a  carver  in  wood,  and  so  earned 
a  subsistence. 

In  1808  he  exhibited  a  model  of  a  head  of  '  Satan  '  at 
the  Eoyal  Academy.  From  this  period  he  was  untiring 
in  his  efforts,  and  continually  successful.  He  had  pre- 
viously tried  his  fortune  at  Edinburgh  and  Dublin,  and 
owed  his  fame  in  London  to  JSTollekens,  who  was  so  struck 
with  his  bust  of  J.  Eaphael  %  Smith,  sent  to  the  Eoyal 
Academy  Exhibition  in  1806,  that  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  a 
splendid  work ;  let  the  man  be  known,  remove  one  of 
my  busts,  and  put  this  in  its  place."  Subsequently  the 
prosperous  sculptor  did  all  he  could  to  advance  the  young 
artist's  interest,  but  his  own  genius  soon  ensured  him 
employment.  Among  his  earliest  works  were  a  monu- 
ment to  the  Eev.  J.  Wilkinson,  Vicar  of  Sheffield,  and 
another  to  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Jones  of  Hafod.  His  bust 
of  Home  Tooke  led  to  much  employment  in  the  same 
style,  and  his  busts  of  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  Earl 
St.  Vincent,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  John  Watt,  and  Lady 
Gertrude  Sloan  e,  followed,  besides  commissions  for  a 
statue  of  George  III.  for  the  Council  Chamber  of  Guild- 
hall, and  of  President  Blair  at  Edinburgh. 

In  1816  he  was  chosen  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  and  in  the  following  year  appeared  the  exqui- 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  F.   CHANTREY  385 

site  group  of  '  The  Sleeping  Children'  (the  daughters  of  the 
Eev.  W.  Eobinson),  the  monument  in  Lichfield  Cathedral, 
which  is  universally  admired  as  the  beau-ideal  of  artless 
beauty  and  innocent  and  unaffected  grace.  This  work 
and  the  statue  exhibited  in  1818,  of  Lady  Louisa  Eussell 
(a  child  on  tiptoe,  pressing  a  dove  to  her  bosom),  now  at 
Woburn  Abbey,  were  both  executed  from  the  designs  of 
Stothard.  In  1818,  Chantrey  became  a  Eoyal  Acade- 
mician, and  presented  as  his  diploma  work  a  marble  bust 
of  the  President,  Benjamin  West.  In  1819  he  proceeded 
to  Italy,  where  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Academies 
of  Eome  and  Florence.  Twice  previously  he  had  visited 
the  Continent,  after  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  and  after  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo. 

From  this  period  orders  crowded  in  upon  him  beyond 
his  power  to  execute,  and  his  future  life  was  employed  in 
executing  one  continued  series  of  monumental  works,  as 
he  rarely  attempted  poetic  pieces,  except  those  we  have 
already  mentioned,  and  two  bas-reliefs  from  Homer,  re- 
presenting '  The  Parting  of  Hector  and  Andromache,'  and 
4  Penelope  with  the  Bow  of  Ulysses.'  In  bronze,  he 
executed  statues  of  William  Pitt,  erected  in  Hanover 
Square ;  Sir  Thomas  Munro,  at  Madras  ;  George  IV.,  at 
Brighton  and  at  Edinburgh ;  and  of  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, at  the  Eoyal  Exchange.  In  marble,  there  are 
statues  by  him  of  Francis  Horner,  Sir  T.  S.  Eaffles,  Geo. 
Canning,  Eev.  E.  F.  Sutton,  and  Sir  J.  Malcolm,  in  West- 
minster Abbey;  Washington,  at  Boston,  U.S.;  Spencer 
Percival,  at  Northampton ;  James  Watt,  at  Aston  Church, 
Birmingham;  Sir  E.  H.  East  and  Bishop  Heber,  at 
Calcutta ;  Canning,  in  the  Liverpool  Town  Hall ;  M.  S. 
Elphinstone  and  Sir  C.  Forbes,  at  Bombay ;  Bishop  Eyder, 
at  Lichfield ;  and  Bishop  Bathurst,  at  Norwich.  Among 
his  numerous  busts  were  George  IV.,  William  IV.,  and 
Queen  Victoria  ;  Lord  Castlereagh,  Canning,  Lord  Mel- 
bourne, Sir  E.  Peel,  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ;  Sir  W. 
Scott,  Wordsworth,  Southey,  and  J.  Eennie. 

VOL.  i.  c  c 


386  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

When  he  first  acquired  celebrity,  he  charged  100 
guineas  for  a  bust,  then  150,  till  1822,  when  the  price 
was  raised  to  200.  Subsequently  he  modelled  a  bust  of 
George  IV.,  when  the  King  wished  him  to  increase  the 
price,  and  insisted  that  the  bust  of  himself  should  not 
return  to  the  artist  a  less  sum  than  300  guineas.  Chantrey 
was  celebrated  for  catching  the  expression  of  his  sitters, 
and  sought  to  portray  the  emotions  of  the  mind  as 
well  as  the  form  of  the  features.  He  treated  the  unpic- 
turesque  modern  costume  with  the  least  possible  injury 
to  the  proportions  of  the  human  figure ;  and  the  fleshy, 
pulpy  appearance  he  gave  to  the  marble  was  very  striking 
and  effective.  His  criticisms  on  his  art,  and  on  painting, 
were  judicious  and  valuable ;  simplicity  and  breadth  were 
the  characteristics  he  especially  sought  and  admired ;  and 
the  circumstance  of  his  sometimes  touching  upon  Con- 
stable's pictures,  and  telling  that  great  painter  that  he 
might  work  upon  his  busts,  illustrates  the  sympathy  in 
taste  and  style  between  the  two  artists. 

He  died  from  disease  of  the  heart,  from  which  he  had 
been  suffering  for  years,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1841, 
and  was  buried  in  a  vault  constructed  by  himself  in  the 
church  of  his  native  place,  Norton.  To  the  clergyman  of 
that  parish  he  bequeathed  £200  per  annum,  "  so  long  as 
his  tomb  shall  last,  to  instruct  ten  poor  boys,  and  to  pay 
£10  to  five  poor  men  and  five  poor  women  of  the  parish 
selected  by  him,  the  residue  to  go  to  him  for  his  trouble." 
In  private  life,  Chantrey  was  generous,  humane,  and 
charitable, — keeping  up  the  most  hearty  friendship  with 
his  brother  Academicians,  and  able  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  highest  as  well  as  the  simplest  society.  He  was  liberal 
to  all  his  professional  brethren,  and  often  encouraged 
tneir  efforts  by  purchasing  their  productions.  In  1837  he 
received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from  her  Majesty. 
In  1849  Mr.  George  Jones,  E.A.,  published  an  interesting 
notice  of  him,  entitled,  "  Sir  Francis  Chantrey :  Eecollec- 
tions  of  his  Life,  Practice,  and  Opinions." 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  F.    CHANTREY  387 

By  his  will  lie  left  the  reversion  of  a  portion  of  his 
property,  at  the  death  or  second  marriage  of  his  wife,  at 
the  disposal,  under  certain  restrictions,  of  the  President 
and  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy,  for  the  promotion  of 
British  fine  arts,  in  painting  and  sculpture,  including  an 
annuity  of  £300  for  the  President,  and  £50  for  the 
Secretary,  payable  on  the  1st  of  January  in  each  year. 
The  interest  of  the  residue  is  to  be  laid  out  in  the  pur- 
chase of  the  works  of  fine  art  of  the  highest  merit  in 
painting  and  sculpture  that  can  be  obtained,  either  already 
executed  or  which  may  hereafter  be  executed  by  artists 
of  any  nation,  resident  in  Great  Britain  when  they  were 
completed.  All  purchases  must  be  bond-fide  purchases 
of  finished  works,  no  commissions  may  be  given  to  artists 
to  execute  them,  and  they  must  be  publicly  exhibited  for 
at  least  one  month  at  the  annual  exhibition  of  the  Eoyal 
Academy.  Chantrey's  design  was  thus  to  form  and 
establish  a  "public  national  collection  of  British  Fine  Arts, 
in  Painting  and  Sculpture;"  but  he  expressly  stipulates 
that  no  part  of  the  money  shall  be  expended  in  providing 
a  gallery  for  their  reception,  as  he  expected  the  nation  to 
supply  one  free  of  charge  upon  his  estate.  Lady  Chantrey, 
however,  so  long  as  she  remains  a  widow,  has  a  life-interest 
in  his  residuary  personal  estate,  which  is  estimated  at 
about  £2500  per  annum,  vested  in  five  trustees,  including 
the  President  and  Treasurer  of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In 
addition  to  this  noble  gift,  Chantrey  left  to  his  principal 
assistant,  Allan  Cuningham,  £2000,  and  a  life  annuity  of 
£100  to  him  or  his  widow ;  also  a  bequest  of  £1000  to 
Henry  Weekes,  his  assistant,  in  each  case  on  the  condition 
that  they  completed  his  unfinished  works  before  they 
resigned  their  offices. 

Lady  Chantrey  still  survives.  She  presented  the  original 
models  of  the  entire  series  of  Sir  Francis  Chantrey's  busts 
(a  very  valuable  collection  of  eminent  contemporary  por- 
traits), the  greater  part  of  his  monumental  figures,  and 
his  studies  from  the  antique,  to  the  University  of  Oxford, 

c  c  2 


388  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

on  the  condition  that  a  permanent  position  should  be 
assigned  to  them  in  the  Taylor  Buildings,  where  they  are 
now  placed,  in  the  Western  Sculpture  Gallery. 

Of  the  two  AKCHITECTS  elected  during  West's  Presi- 
dentship, we  must  first  speak  of  that  remarkable  man,  Sir 
JOHX  SOANE,  E.A.,  who  rose  to  eminence  and  riches  from 
a  very  humble  beginning.  The  real  name  of  his  family 
was  Swan.  His  father  was  a  bricklayer  or  small 
builder  at  Eeading,  where  he  was  born  on  the  10th  Sep- 
tember, 1753.  Dance,  the  architect,  employed  him  at 
first  as  an  errand  boy  or  attendant,  and  afterwards  placed 
him  on  the  rank  of  a  pupil.  His  sister  was  also  a  servant 
in  Dance's  family.  He  subsequently  studied  with  Holland, 
an  architect  of  some  position,  and  remained  with  him  till 
1776.  He  became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in 
1771,  and  five  years  afterwards  obtained  the  gold  medal 
for  a  design  for  '  a  Triumphal  Bridge,'  which  was  based, 
in  a  great  measure,  upon  that  made  by  Thomas  Sandby, 
to  illustrate  one  of  his  lectures  on  Architecture  at 
the  Academy.  At  the  recommendation  of  Sir  William 
Chambers,  he  was  sent  to  Italy  with  the  allowance 
granted  for  three  years  to  travelling  students.  An  octavo 
volume  of  "  Designs  for  Temples,  Baths,  &c.,"  previously 
drawn  by  him,  was  published  in  1778,  after  he  had  left 
England,  which  sadly  detracted  from  the  good  opinion 
entertained  of  his  abilities,  many  of  them  being  designed 
in  wretched  taste,  and  all  of  them  being  characterised  by 
that  littleness  of  manner,  and  those  whims  and  fancies 
which  distinguished  more  or  less  all  his  after  works. 
His  name  was  spelt  "  Scan  "  in  this  book,  and  at  a  later 
period  he  took  great  pains  to  buy  up  all  the  copies  which 
were  then  in  circulation. 

During  his  stay  in  Italy  he  studied  all  the  ancient 
buildings,  and  made  some  original  designs  for  a  Senate 
House  and  a  Eoyal  Palace.  Mr.  Thomas  Pitt,  afterwards 
Lord  Camelford,  met  him  in  Italy,  and  obtained  for  him 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  JOHN  SOANE  389 

the  appointment  of  architect  to  the  Bank  of  England,  on 
the  death  of  Sir  Eobert  Taylor.  In  1788  he  published 
a  volume  of  plans  and  elevations  of  several  country 
mansions  designed  by  him,  in  which  great  pains  are 
taken  to  attend  to  the  conveniences  of  the  interior 
arrangements,  but  little  taste  or  invention  is  displayed 
in  regard  to  the  general  design.  By  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Smith,  the  niece  of  George  Wyatt,  a  wealthy  builder 
in  the  city,  he  became,  on  his  wife's  uncle's  death,  the 
owner  of  a  very  considerable  fortune.  Subsequently  he 
succeeded  to  several  lucrative  appointments — clerk  of  the 
works  at  St.  James's  Palace  in  1791 ;  architect  to  the 
Woods  and  Forests  in  1795 ;  and  Surveyor  to  Chelsea 
Hospital  in  1807. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1795,  and  E.A.  in 
1802 ;  and  was  Professor  of  Architecture  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  from  1806  till  his  death.  A  variety  of  public 
and  private  buildings  engaged  his  attention  during  several 
years,  in  all  of  which  a  great  want  of  unity  of  design 
and  purpose  was  conspicuous,  arising  apparently  from  a 
constant  effort  at  originality,  experiments  in  parts,  and 
successes  in  details,  which  left  the  whole  incongruous  ; 
while  there  were  serious  defects  and  omissions  in  other 
parts.  The  north-west  corner  of  the  Bank  of  England  is 
his  best  work,  and  far  surpasses  all  the  rest  of  his  per- 
formances. In  this  work  he  applied  the  Tivoli-Corinthian 
style,  which  he  was  the  first  to  introduce  into  this  country. 
He  possessed  great  ingenuity  and  contrivance,  and  suc- 
ceeded especially  in  perspective  effects,  depending  upon 
interior  arrangements  and  minute  details;  but  he  never 
carried  out  the  idea  on  a  definite  plan,  so  as  to  give  unity 
to  the  whole  work. 

In  1828  he  published  a  series  of  folio  plates  of  designs 
for  public  and  private  buildings,  to  record  his  labours 
as  an  architect;  and  in  1832  he  issued  a  description  of  the 
house  he  erected  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  which  is  full  of 
objects  of  interest,  but  is  a  strange  jumble  of  oddities 


390  HISTOHY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY         [On.  IX. 

and  eccentricities.  He  commenced  the  formation  of  the 
museum  of  antiquities,  the  collection  of  pictures,  and  the 
library  in  1812,  and  spent  large  sums  upon  them  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  By  success  in  his  profession, 
and  the  property  he  obtained  in  right  of  his  wife,  he 
became  a  wealthy  man ;  and  late  in  life  he  had  a  serious 
and  bitter  quarrel  with  his  only  surviving  son,  who  ex- 
cited his  father's  anger  by  writing  a  severe  criticism  on 
his  works  in  one  of  the  periodicals  of  the  day.  Many 
persons,  knowing  that  Sir  John  Soane  had  vowed  that  he 
would  disinherit  his  son,  hoped  to  obtain  a  share  of  his 
property ;  but  in  1833  he  obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament 
vesting  his  museum,  library,  &c.  in  trustees,  for  the  use  of 
the  public  after  his  death,  limiting  admission  to  two  days 
a  week  for  three  months  of  the  year,  by  tickets  issued  by 
the  curator,  an  officer  to  be  nominated  by  the  Eoyal 
Academy,  to  reside  on  the  premises,  with  an  income  pro- 
vided out  of  the  funds  bequeathed  by  Sir  J.  Soane,  for 
its  preservation  and  management. l 

The  formation  of  this  museum  was  the  amusement  of 
the  chief  portion  of  a  lifetime,  and  cost  upwards  of 
£50,000.  There  are  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Eoman 
antiquities,  sculptures  and  gems,  rare  books  and  manu- 
scripts, architectural  models,  and  several  valuable  pictures ; 
among  them,  Soane's  portrait  by  Lawrence;  the  famous 
'  Snake  in  the  Grass,'  by  Eeynolds ;  the  series  of  pictures  of 
'  The  Eake's  Progress,'  and  '  The  March  to  Finchley,'  by 
Hogarth  ;  a  fine  work  by  Canaletti,  and  others  by  Turner, 
Fuseli,  CaUcott,  Eastlake,  &c.  The  house  must  be  seen  to 
be  understood  ;  for  cabinets,  recesses,  ceilings,  and  walls, 
doing  double  duty  by  moveable  planes,  are  all  covered  and 
full  of  articles  ingeniously  arranged  ;  and  these  are  found 
in  little  monk's  parlours,  crypts,  courts,  recesses,  cata- 


1  Mr.  Bailey  was  the  first  curator  Academy  from  among  the  candidates 

thus  appointed,  and  in  1861,  on  that  who  then  offered  themselves  for  the 

gentleman's     death,      Mr.     Joseph  office,  to  succeed  him. 
Bonomi  was  selected  by  the  Royal 


CH.  EX.]  SIR  ROBERT  SMIRKE  391 

conibs,  and  other  apartments  as  fantastic  in  shape  as  in 
name. 

In  1831  Soane  was  offered  a  baronetage,  but  refused  it, 
purposely  that  his  son  might  not  even  inherit  an  empty 
title  from  liim :  he,  however,  accepted  the  honour  of 
knighthood  for  himself.  His  health  and  faculties  re- 
mained unimpaired  until  the  day  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  rather  suddenly  at  his  house  in  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields,  on  the  20th  January,  1837.  He  was  buried  at  St. 
Giles's  burial-ground  in  the  Old  St.  Pancras  Eoad,  where 
two  tall  cypress-trees  mark  the  site  of  his  grave. 

Sir  EGBERT  SMIRKE,  E.A.,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Eobert 
Sniirke,  E.A.,  and  the  brother  of  Sydney  Smirke,  E.A. 
He  was  born  in  1780,  and  received  from  his  father  a 
careful  training  in  the  knowledge  of  art.  He  did  not 
choose  painting,  however,  but  architecture  as  his  especial 
study ;  and  entered  the  Schools  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in 
1796,  where  he  obtained  the  gold  medal  in  1799  for  his 
design  for  "a  National  Gallery  for  Painting,"  &c.  He 
subsequently  made  a  tour  in  Italy,  Sicily,  Greece,  and 
Germany,  from  which  he  returned  in  1805.  The  first- 
fruits  of  this  journey  were  the  "  Specimens  of  Conti- 
nental Architecture,"  published  in  folio,  in  1806,  and  his 
contributions  to  Donaldson's  "  Antiquities  of  Athens  "  and 
other  works,  giving  the  results  of  his  investigations  into 
the  remains  of  ancient  art. 

While  still  a  very  young  man  he  had  opportunities  (by 
the  aid  of  influential  friends  and  patrons)  of  displaying 
the  talents  he  possessed,  which  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of 
genius.  His  first  work  as  an  architect  was  Covent 
Garden  Theatre,  the  most  important  specimen  of  the 
Grecian-Doric  style  which  had  then  been  erected  in  the 
metropolis.  There  was  a  large  tetra-style  Doric  portico, 
ornamented  with  sculptures  in  relief  by  Flaxman.  The 
interior  was  altered  in  1847  to  adapt  it  for  the  Italian 
Opera ;  and  the  whole  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  5th  of 


392  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  ROYAL  ACADEMY        [On.  IX. 

March,  1856.  His  next  work  of  importance  was  the 
Mint,  erected  in  1811,  in  the  same  style,  but  with  a  rusti- 
cated basement.  It  is  a  neat,  unpretending,  but  sub- 
stantial-looking pile  of  three  stories,  having  a  centre  with 
attached  columns  supporting  a  pediment  and  wings.  A 
more  imposing  work  is  the  General  Post  Office  in  St. 
Martin's-le-Grand,  commenced  in  1823,  and  finished  in 
1829.  It  is  in  the  Grecian-Ionic  style,  making  little 
pretensions  to  architectural  display,  except  on  the  side 
facing  the  main  street,  where  there  are  three  porticoes, 
one  at  each  end  of  four  columns,  and  a  centre  one  of  six 
columns,  surmounted  by  a  pediment,  all  of  the  Ionic 
order.  While  this  work  was  in  progress  he  also  erected, 
in  the  same  style,  the  College  of  Physicians  and  the 
Union  Club  at  Trafalgar  Square.  The  club-house  belong- 
ing to  the  United  Service  in  Charles  Street,  Eegent  Street, 
was  designed  by  him ;  but  being  subsequently  sold  for  the 
use  of  the  Junior  United  Service  Club,  it  was  recently 
altered  to  a  design  of  a  less  sombre  character. 

In  1830-31  he  was  employed  at  the  Inner  Temple, 
extending  King's  Bench  walk  in  the  Grecian  style,  and 
completing  the  library  in  the  Gothic.  Subsequently  he 
erected  King's  College  as  the  east  wing  of  Somerset 
House.  The  restoration  of  York  Minster,  after  the  fire 
of  1829,  was  conducted  under  his  superintendence,  and 
is  his  chief  work  in  the  Gothic  style.  The  Carlton  Club 
was  completed  by  him  in  1834,  a  pseudo-classic  structure, 
which  being  heavy  and  unattractive,  was  subsequently 
removed  to  give  place  to  the  present  very  striking  and 
ornamental  design  by  his  brother  Sydney.  In  connexion 
with  him,  he  designed  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Club, 
completed  in  1838,  the  most  ornamental  of  any  of  his 
works. 

While  all  these  buildings  were  in  progress,  another  more 
important  one  was  making  slow  progress  towards  com- 
pletion. This  was  the  British  Museum,  one  of  the  largest 
architectural  works  of  the  present  century.  It  was  com- 


CH.  IX.]  SIR  ROBERT  SMIRKE  393 

menced  in  1823,  but  from  various  causes  the  portico  was 
not  completed  till  1847.  It  is  of  the  Greek-Ionic  order, 
carried  out  externally  with  great  severity,  but  one  of  the 
most  imposing  Grecian  structures  in  the  metropolis.  The 
grand  front  is  370  feet  long,  consisting  of  a  central  por- 
tion with  advanced  wings.  There  are  44  columns  in  the 
fa9ade,  5  feet  in  diameter  and  45  feet  high,  resting  upon 
a  stylobate  5^  feet  high.  Westmacott's  alto-relievo  group 
fills  up  the  tympanum  of  the  pediment.  There  was  an 
open  quadrangle  in  the  original  design  320  by  240  feet, 
the  greater  part  of  which  has  since  been  filled  up  by  the 
noble  new  reading-room  and  its  connected  buildings. 
Much  difference  of  opinion  has  been  expressed  as  to  the 
suitability  of  the  building  for  its  purposes,  but  with  the 
exception  of  some  few  internal  arrangements  which  are 
considered  defective,  it  possesses  the  dignity  and  simplicity 
suited  to  the  objects  of  a  public  museum  of  archaeology 
and  natural  history ;  and  in  many  of  its  apartments,  both 
as  to  size,  height,  and  lighting,  admirably  fulfils  its 
purpose. 

In  1808  Sir  Eobert  Srnirke  became  an  Associate,  and 
in  1811  was  elected  a  Eoyal  Academician.  His  diploma 
work  was  a  view  of  '  The  Eestoration  of  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens.'  He  was  appointed  Treasurer  in  1820,  and  held 
the  office  till  1850.  He  resigned  his  position  as  an  Acade- 
mician on  20th  of  May,  1859,  finding  that  age  and  infirmity 
rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should  retire  from  his  pro- 
fession, and  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  fulfil  the  duties 
of  his  position  in  the  Academy  with  the  energy  and 
activity  he  felt  they  required.  His  brother  Sydney  suc- 
ceeded to  the  seat  which  he  vacated.  Sir  Kobert  was  one 
of  the  architects  of  the  Board  of  Works  and  Public 
Buildings,  until  the  office  was  abolished  in  1831,  when 
the  honour  of  knighthood  was  conferred  upon  him  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  past  services. 

The  forty  members  who  during  the  period  in  which 


394  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY          [On.  IX. 

Benjamin  West  presided  over  the  Academy,  were  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancies  existing  in  the  ranks  of  the  Acade- 
micians, were  no  unworthy  successors  (as  we  think  the 
preceding  outlines  of  their  several  lives  will  have  shown), 
of  the  original  members  who  established  the  Academy 
under  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  and  of  those  who  were  after- 
wards associated  with  him  during  his  presidentship  over 
the  institution. 


395 


CHAPTEE  X. 

ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  DURING  THE  PRESIDENTSHIP  OF  BEN- 
JAMIN WEST,  WHO  DID  NOT  SUBSEQUENTLY  BECOME  ROYAL 
ACADEMICIANS. 

Painters :  J.  DowifMAir,  G.  GARRARD,  T.  CLARKE,  A.  J.  OLIVER,  S.  DRTTM- 
MOND,  G.  ARNALD,  W.  WESTAXL,  G.  F.  JOSEPH,  W.  ALLSTON. 

Architect:  J.  GANDT. 

Associate  Engravers :  A.  SMITH,  J.  FITTLER,  J.  LANDSEER,  W.  WARD, 
W.  BROMLEY. 

THE  younger  artists  enlisted  into  the  ranks  of  the 
Academy  as  associates  during  West's  presidentship, 
have  now  to  be  noticed.  Among  those  of  this  class  who 
did  not  afterwards  attain  the  higher  grade  of  Eoyal 
Academician  (15  in  number)  there  were  9  painters,  1 
architect,  and  5  associate  engravers.  The  painters  were 
John  Downman,  elected  in  1795  ;  George  Garrard,  in 
1800;  Theophilus  Clarke,  in  1803;  A.  J.  Oliver,  in 
1807  ;  S.  Drummond,  in  1808 ;  G.  Arnald,  in  1810  ; 
W.  Westell,  in  1812 ;  G.  F.  Joseph,  in  1813 ;  and 
W.  Allston,  in  1818.  The  only  architect  was  Joseph 
Gandy,  elected  in  1803.  The  engravers  were  Anker 
Smith,  elected  in  1797 ;  J.  Fittler,  in  1800 ;  John 
Landseer,  in  1806  ;  W.  Ward,  in  1814  ;  and  W.  Bromley, 
in  1819. 

JOHN  DOWNMAN,  A.E.A.,  was  a  student  at  the  Eoyal 
Academy  in  1769,  and  became  an  Associate  in  1795. 
He  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  portrait  and  miniature 
painting,  but  frequently  exhibited  pictures  of  fancy  sub- 
jects, such  as  'The  Death  of  Lucretia,'  'The  Priestess 


396  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  X. 

of  Bacchus,'  '  Tobias,'  '  Fair  Kosamond,'  '  The  Eeturn  of 
Orestes,'  '  Duke  Eobert,'  '  Bacchante,'  &c.  He  was  a 
large  and  constant  contributor  during  many  years  to  the 
exhibitions  of  the  Academy,  and  was  a  man  of  very 
superior  abilities  and  qualities  of  heart.  He  died  at 
Wrexham,  North  Wales,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1824, 
and  left  a  large  collection  of  his  works  to  his  only 
daughter. 

GEOEGE  GAEEAED,  A.E.A.,  was  born  on  the  31st  of 
May,  1760,  became  a  student  at  the  Academy  in  1778, 
and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1800.  He  seems  to 
have  combined  painting  and  sculpture  in  his  practice  ; 
for  sometimes  he  was  an  exhibitor  of  pictures  of  horses 
and  dogs,  and  landscapes,  and  at  others  of  sculptured 
busts,  bas-reliefs,  and  monuments.  He  died  on  the  8th 
of  October,  1826,  at  Queen's  Buildings,  Brompton. 

THEOPHILUS  CLAEKE,  A.E.A.,  was  born  in  1776,  and 
became  a  student  at  the  Academy  in  1793 ;  he  was 
elected  an  Associate  in  1803.  He  occasionally  exhi- 
bited a  few  fancy  subjects,  such  as  '  The  Pensive  Girl,' 
and  '  The  Lovers,'  from  Thomson's  "  Seasons  ;  "  but  his 
practice  appears  to  have  been  chiefly  confined  to  the  paint- 
ing of  portraits.  It  is  not  known  when  he  died,  but  his 
name  was  erased  from  the  list  of  Associates  in  1832. 

AECHEE  JAMES  OLIVEE,  A.E.A.,  was  born  in  1774, 
was  admitted  as  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1790, 
and  became  an  Associate  in  1807.  He  lived  in  New 
Bond  Street,  and  practised  there  as  a  fashionable  painter 
of  portraits.  He  exhibited  a  large  number  of  such  works 
for  several  years  at  the  Academy.  In  1835  he  was 
appointed  Curator  in  the  Painting  School,  but  after- 
wards fell  into  ill-health,  and  was  maintained  principally 
by  aid  from  the  funds  of  the  Academy  until  he  died  in 
1842. 


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.  a  ,  /?,  A  ,, 


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CH.  X.]  DRUMMON D — ARNALD  —  WESTALL  397 

SAMUEL  DBUMMOND,  A.E.A.,  was  born  in  1770,  entered 
the  schools  of  the  Academy  in  1791,  and  was  elected  an 
Associate  in  1808.  His  principal  occupation  was  portrait 
painting,  but  he  also  exhibited  occasionally  Scripture, 
classic,  and  fancy  subjects,  by  the  engravings  from  which 
he  was  favourably  known  to  the  public.  He  succeeded 
Oliver  as  Curator  of  the  Painting  School,  and  was  fre- 
quently granted  assistance  from  the  funds  of  the  Academy 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  although  he  continued  to  prac- 
tise his  profession  until  his  death  in  1844.  His  portrait 
of  Sir  M.  I.  Brunei,  and  a  miniature  of  Mrs.  E.  Fry,  are 
in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

GEOKGE  AKNALD,  A.E.A.,  was  born  in  1763,  and  was 
elected  an  Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1810.  He 
was  afterwards  appointed  Landscape  Painter  to  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  and  contributed  to  the  exhibitions  com- 
positions from  nature,  views  of  tranquil  English  scenery, 
and  some  French  landscapes.  He  died  at  Pentonville 
on  the  21st  of  November,  1841,  in  his  78th  year. 

WILLIAM  WESTALL,  A.E.A.,  was  a  younger  brother  of 
the  Eoyal  Academician,  Eichard  Westall,  and  was  born  at 
Hertford,  on  the  12th  of  October,  1781.  He  studied 
under  his  brother,  and  in  1801,  on  the  recommendation 
of  West,  was  appointed  draughtsman  to  the  voyage  of 
discovery  undertaken  by  Captain  Flinders  in  the  "  In- 
vestigator." He  was  thus  employed  for  two  years,  until 
the  ship  was  abandoned,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
its  companion,  the  "  Porpoise,"  in  which  he  was  wrecked 
on  a  coral  reef  on  the  north  coast  of  Australia.  He 
was  picked  up  by  a  ship  bound  for  China,  where  he 
remained  some  months,  and  then  made  his  way  to 
India,  visiting  the  interior  to  sketch  the  most  remark- 
able scenes  he  met  with  in  that  country.  On  his  re- 
turn to  England  he  failed  to  obtain  adequate  employ- 
ment, and  again  set  sail,  this  time  for  Madeira  and 


398  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  X. 

the  West  India  Islands.  In  1808  he  returned  to  exhibit 
his  collection  of  water-colour  drawings,  but  the  result  did 
not  answer  his  expectations.  After  the  return  of  Captain 
Flinders,  the  Government  gave  Westall  directions  to  pre- 
pare his  sketches  for  engraving  with  the  published  account 
of  the  voyage,  and  he  also  received  commissions  to  paint 
several  views  in  Australia.  Some  of  these  novel  scenes 
attracted  considerable  attention  when  exhibited  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1812,  the  year  in  which  he  became  an 
Associate,  having  been  previously  elected  a  member  of 
the  Water-Colour  Society. 

For  several  years  after  this  period  he  devoted  his  time 
exclusively  to  drawing  for  engravers,  and  thus  acquired 
a  neatness  of  style  which  spoiled  the  effect  of  his  paint- 
ings on  a  large  scale.  Among  his  chief  works,  those 
representing  the  scenery  of  the  English  lakes  are  the 
most  attractive.  In  that  charming  locality  he  obtained 
the  friendship  of  the  "  lake  poets  "  Southey  and  Words- 
worth. He  also  drew  and  engraved  in  aquatinta  views  of 
monastic  ruins  in  Yorkshire,  Oxford,  Cambridge,  &c. 
Latterly  he  painted  very  little  in  oil-colours,  and  contri- 
buted very  few  works  to  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In  1847 
he  met  with  an  accident,  breaking  his  arm,  and  injuring 
himself  internally,  from  the  consequences  of  which  he 
never  perfectly  recovered.  He  died  on  the  22nd  of 
January,  1850. 

GEOEGE  FEANCIS  JOSEPH,  A.E.A.,  was  born  on  the 
25th  of  November,  1764,  and  became  a  student  at  the 
Eoyal  Academy  in  1784.  In  1792  he  gained  the  gold 
medal  for  the  best  historical  painting  of  the  year,  the 
subject  being  a  scene  from.  "  Coriolanus ;  "  and  in  1812 
he  was  awarded  a  premium  of  100  guineas  by  the 
British  Institution  for  his  picture  of  '  The  Procession  to 
Mount  Calvary.'  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1813. 
Subsequently  he  established  himself  in  his  profession  as  a 
portrait-painter  in  oils,  and  found  full  employment  in  this 


CH.  X.]  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON  399 

department  of  art.  His  portraits  of  the  Eight  Hon. 
Spencer  Perceval  and  of  Sir  Stamford  Baffles  are  in  the 
National  Portrait  Gallery.  He  also  painted  fancy  pictures 
from  Shakspeare,  &c.  He  resided  in  Percy  Street,  Bed- 
ford Square,  and  died  in  1846. 

WASHINGTON  ALLSTON,  A.E.A.,  was  a  native  of  America, 
and  was  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1780.  In  1796  he 
entered  Harvard  College,  and  in  1801  came  to  England 
to  study  painting  at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  In  1804  he 
went  to  Paris,  and  thence  to  Eome,  where  he  stayed  four 
years,  astonishing  the  artists  there  by  his  peculiar  effects 
in  colour,  obtained  by  an  extensive  use  of  asphaltum, 
after  the  manner  of  Eembrandt.  In  1809  he  went  back 
to  America,  and  at  Boston  married  the  sister  of  Dr. 
Channing.  He  came  to  England  in  1811,  and  obtained 
a  prize  of  200  guineas  from  the  British  Institution  for 
his  picture,  painted  in  1812,  of  'The  Dead  Man  raised 
by  touching  Elisha's  Bones,'  which  was  afterwards  bought 
for  3500  dollars  by  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Arts. 
West  praised  this  picture  highly,  saying  that  it  reminded 
him  of  the  highest  schools  of  art  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Allston's  wife  died  in  1813,  which  affected  him  deeply, 
and  his  own  health  became  very  delicate.  The  next 
year  he  published  "  Hints  to  Young  Practitioners  in  the 
Study  of  Landscape  Painting."  In  company  with  C.  E. 
Leslie  he  again  visited  Paris  in  1817,  and  was  chosen  an 
Associate  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1818,  in  which  year 
he  was  also  awarded  a  premium  of  150  guineas  by  the 
British  Institution  for  his  picture  of  'The  Angel  Uriel.' 
From  this  time  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Cam- 
bridgeport,  a  village  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  9th  of 
June,  1843,  he  resided  in  great  seclusion  in  his  native 
country,  devoting  himself  to  elegant  studies  in  literature 
as  well  as  to  painting  ;  hence  his  works  are  little  known 
in  England,  as  for  many  years  he  never  contributed  a 
single  picture  to  the  Eoyal  Academy.  He  was  long  held 


400  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  X. 

in  affectionate  remembrance,  however,  by  many  friends  in 
this  country,  and  among  them,  by  Coleridge,  who  said  of 
him  that  he  was  gifted  with  an  artistic  and  poetic  genius 
unsurpassed  by  any  man  of  his  age.  Leslie  held  him  in 
great  regard,  and  describes  him  as  "  a  most  amiable  and 
polished  gentleman,  and  a  painter  of  the  purest  taste." 
In  the  Egremont  Collection  at  Petworth  are  'Jacob's 
Dream,'  and  '  Elisha ; '  Mr.  Labouchere  possesses  '  Elisha 
in  the  Desert,'  and  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  '  Uriel.'  His 
works  are  characterised  by  great  imagination,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  perspective,  and  of  the  use  of  light  and 
shade.  Many  years  ago  he  published  a  volume  of  poems, 
and  about  two  years  before  his  death  an  Italian  romance 
entitled  "  Monalde."  A  folio  volume  of  engravings,  from 
the  graceful  and  elegant  sketches  found  in  his  studio  after 
his  death,  was  published  soon  afterwards  in  Boston,  U.S. 

JOSEPH  GANDY,  A.E.A.,  was  the  only  architect  added  to 
the  list  of  Associates  during  West's  presidentship.  He 
became  a  student  in  1789,  was  awarded  the  gold  medal 
in  1790,  for  his  architectural  design  for  a  '  Triumphal 
Arch,'  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1803.  He  was 
an  elder  brother  of  Mr.  J.  P.  Gandy  Deering,  also  an 
architect,  but  whose  practice  was  limited  to  a  short  period, 
as  he  became  possessed  of  a  large  property  many  years 
before  his  death.  Joseph  Gandy  lived  in  Greek  Street, 
Soho,  and  exhibited  a  large  number  of  architectural 
designs  and  drawings  at  the  Eoyal  Academy.  He  died 
in  1844. 

The  five  Associate  Engravers  remain  to  be  noticed. 
These  were : — 

ANKEK  SMITH,  A.E.,  who  was  born  in  London  in  1759, 
and  educated  at  Merchant  Taylor's  School.  He  was 
articled,  in  1777,  to  his  uncle,  Mr.  John  Toole,  an  attorney 
(a  brother  of  the  translator  of  Tasso  and  Ariosto),  in 


CH.  X.]  ANKER   SMITH  — J.   FITTLER  401 

* 

whose  office  he  amused  himself  by  copying  line  engrav- 
ings with  a  pen  so  admirably  that  James  Heath  mistook 
them  for  prints.  He  was  persuaded  by  him  to  learn 
engraving  ;  and  after  receiving  instruction  for  three  years, 
1779-82,  from  an  engraver  named  Taylor,  he  became 
Heath's  assistant,  and  worked  largely  on  the  plates 
bearing  that  engraver's  name, —  indeed  the  plate  of  the 
'  Apotheosis  of  Handel,'  signed  by  James  Heath,  is  said 
to  be  entirely  the  work  of  Smith.  In  1787  he  was 
engaged  to  engrave  the  plates  for  Bell's  edition  of 
the  "British  Poets,"  the  "British  Theatre,"  Smirke's 
illustrations  to  "Don  Quixote,"  and  other  small  book- 
plates. At  a  later  period,  Boydell  also  employed  him  on 
the  Shakspeare  Gallery ;  and  one  plate,  the  '  Death  of 
Wat  Tyler,'  after  Nbrthcote,  was  so  much  admired  that 
it  obtained  for  him  the  rank  of  Associate-Engraver  in 
1797.  He  also  engraved  the  plates  for  Wood's  smaller 
Shakspeare,  and  for  Coomb's  works  on  the  "  Ancient 
Marbles  and  Terra  Cottas  in  the  British  Museum."  His 
larger  works,  after  Titian,  Carracci,  and  L.  da  Vinci,  bear 
some  resemblance  to  those  of  Bartolozzi,  and  his  smaller 
ones  are  much  esteemed  for  their  beautiful  execution  and 
correct  drawing. 

His  private  friends  admired  his  simple  piety,  and  correct 
taste  and  judgment.  He  married  in  1791,  and  left  a 
widow,  four  sons,  and  a  daughter.  His  second  son 
became  a  promising  pupil  of  Chantrey's,  but  died  when 
only  thirty-eight ;  the  two  younger  ones  became  painters. 
One  of  his  sisters  was  the  mother  of  Sir  Wm.  C.  Eoss,  E.A. 
He  died  of  apoplexy,  in  1819. 

JAMES  FITTLER,  A.E.,  was  born  in  London  in  1758,  and 
became  a  student  at  the  Eoyal  Academy  in  1778.  Besides 
book  illustrations,  he  distinguished  himself  by  numerous 
works  after  English  and  foreign  masters,  chiefly  por- 
traits, busts,  &c.  He  was  appointed  engraver  to  the 
King,  and  executed  the  plates  for  Forster's  "British 

VOL.  i.  D  D 


402 


HISTORY   OF  THE   ROYAL   ACADEMY  [On.  X. 


•  Antiquities, 
men's  Seats, 
;nery  of  Scot- 
.  oblong  folio, 
1804. 


Gallery,"  many  of  those  for  Bell's  "  British  Theatre,"  and 
all  of  those  in  Dr.  Dibdin's  "Aedes  Althorpianse,"  pub- 
lished in  1822,  since  which  time  he  undertook  no  im- 
portant work.  His  best  engravings  are  'Lord  Howe's 
Victory '  and  the  '  Battle  of  the  Nile,'  both  after  De 
Loutherbourg,  and  the  portrait  of  Benjamin  West.  He 
was  elected  an  Associate-Engraver  in  1800,  and  died  in 
1835^ 

JOHN  LANDSEER,  A.E.,  the  father  of  Thomas  Landseer, 
the  mezzotint-engraver,  of  Charles,  the  present  Keeper  of 
the  Eoyal  Academy,  and  of  the  eminent  animal  painter, 
Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  was  .born  at  Lincoln  in  1769.  His 
instructor  in  the  art  of  engraving  was  John  Byrne,  a 
landscape  engraver  of  much  ability.  As  early  as  1793, 
he  attracted  notice  by  some  vignettes, he  executed  after 
De  Loutherbourg,  and  by  his  line  engravings  for  Bowyer's 
"  History  of  England,"  and  Moore's  "  Views  in  Scotland." 
He  subsequently  published  a  clever  series  of  engravings 
of  animals  from  the  works  of  Eubens,  Snyders,  Gilpin, 
and  other  artists.  He  next  turned  his  attention  to  the 
history  of  his  art,  and  the  position  of  its  professors.  In 
1806  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  at  the  Eoyal 
Institution,  on  "  Engraving,"  which  were  published  in  the 
following  year,  and  occasioned  some  controversy  by  the 
peculiar  views  expressed  in  them. 

In  1806  he  was  elected  an  Associate-Engraver  of  the 
Eoyal  Academy ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  only  accepted  the 
rank  in  order  that  he  might  be  the  better  able  to  seek 
to  remove  the  cause  of  contention,  existing  from  the  first 
formation  of  the  Academy,  in  regard  to  the  admission 
of  engravers  to  full  academic  honours.  As  we  have  seen 
in  a  previous  chapter,  he  addressed  a  memorial  to  the 
President  and  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Academy  on  the 
subject,1  and,  after  a  long  discussion,  found  that  he 

1  This  document  is  printed  at  length  in  "Pye's  Patronage  of  British  Art," 
pp.  254-57. 


CH.  X.]  JOHN  LANDSEER— W.   WARD  403 

could  not  obtain  any  alteration  in  the  laws  on  the  subject. 
From  that  time  he  seems  to  have  indulged  more  in 
controversy  on  art  than  in  the  practice  of  it.  He  com- 
menced the  publication  of  a  periodical,  which  soon  dis- 
appeared, and,  at  a  later  period,  another,  the  "  Probe," 
to  oppose  the  "Art-Union  Journal"  in  its  early 
career,  which  failed,  like  its  predecessor.  In  1817  he 
communicated  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  a  paper  on 
"Engraved  Gems  brought  from  Babylon,"  which  was 
printed  in  their  Proceedings ;  and  he  afterwards  delivered 
a  course  of  lectures  on  "  Engraved  Hieroglyphics,"  at  the 
Eoyal  Institution.  In  1823  he  published  a  volume, 
entitled  "  Sabaean  Kesearches ; "  and  in  1834,  a  "  Descrip- 
tive, Explanatory,  and  Critical  Catalogue  of  the  Earliest 
Pictures  in  the  National  Gallery,"  which  was  a  discursive, 
amusing  volume. 

He  died  on  the  29th  of  February,  1852,  in  his  83rd 
year,  and  was  buried  in  Highgate  Cemetery.  He  lived  to 
see  his  sons  rise  to  eminence,  and  one  of  them  to  occupy 
a  conspicuous  place  among  the  artists  of  Europe.  One  of 
Sir  Edwin  Landseer's  early  pictures, '  The  Dogs  of  Mount 
St.  Bernard,'  was  engraved  by  his  father,  and  was  one  of 
his  best  works. 

WILLIAM  WARD,  A.E.,  was  the  elder  brother  of  James 
Ward,  E.A.,  the  animal  painter  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  and  was  his  instructor  for  some  time  in  his  early 
career  in  art.  William  Ward  was  a  mezzotinto  engraver, 
and  is  chiefly  known  by  his  transcripts  of  the  works  of 
-George  Morland,  his  brother-in-law.  He  engraved  por- 
traits by  Eeynolds,  Jackson,  and  others,  and  copied  also  a 
few  historical  pictures.  He  was  elected  an  Associate- 
Engraver  in  1814,  and  held  the  appointment  of  Mezzotinto 
Engraver  to  the  Prince  Eegent  and  the  Duke  of  York. 
He  lived  in  Warren  Street,  Fitzroy  Square,  and  died  there, 
very  suddenly,  on  the  1st  of  December,  1826.  His  son, 
William  James  Ward,  followed  his  father's  style,  and 


404  HISTORY  OF  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMY  [On.  X. 

excelled  him  in  ability,  although  he  displayed  great  skill 
in  his  profession. 

WILLIAM  BROMLEY,  A.E.,  was  born  at  Carisbrooke,  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  1769.  He  was  apprenticed  to  an 
engraver  named  Wooding,  in  London,  and  soon  attracted 

O  O7  7 

the  notice  of  several  eminent  painters  by  his  works. 
Among  those  whose  esteem  he  won,  were  Fuseli,  Stothard, 
Flaxman,  and  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence.  Of  his  early  pro- 
ductions, the  most  popular  were  the  prints  in  lYEacklin's 
Bible,  and  his  copies  of  Stothard's  designs,  illustrating  a 
"  History  of  England."  He  engraved,  also,  two  of  Law- 
rence's portraits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  one  of 
young  Napoleon.  Of  a  different  class  is  his  print  after 
Eubens, l  The  Woman  taken  in  Adultery.'  In  1819  he 
was  elected  an  Associate-Engraver  of  the  Eoyal  Academy, 
and  was  also  a  Member  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke,  at 
Eome.  He  was  employed  for  many  years  by  the  trustees 
of  the  British  Museum  in  engraving  the  '  Elgin  Marbles,' 
from  drawings  'made  by  Henry  Corbould.  His  son,  John 
Bromley,  was  also  an  eminent  engraver  in  mezzotint,  but 
died  three  years  before  his  father,  who  survived  till  1842. 


END    OF    THE    FIKST    VOLUME. 


LONDON 

FRINTED     BT     8  POT  T  I  SWOOD  E     A  X  D     CO. 
NEW-STREET  SQUABB 


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